Talent Showcase
by kdr2730
Summary: Rosewoods annual Talent Showcase shows off more than talent this year. It shows the liars what is really important and shows Jason and Aria how to move on from the past.
1. Wednesday

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars or these characters. Not written for money, only enjoyment. **

This is going to start out kind of funny and I'm sorry about that, but as I started to write this direction came to me and I liked where it went. I hope you enjoy the story.

_Please don't be afraid to review. I appreciate them all including criticism. _

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Aria Montgomery, Spencer Hastings, Hanna Marin and Emily Fields were a group of friends who seemed to be unable to be broken. Never in the last 3 years had they truly turned on one another always there when the pieces began to fall into place or things got out of hand. Now that A's reign of terror was over, the girls were looking for a way to get back to normal, not really having any idea of how to though. It was the last three months of their senior year, Aria was miserable because of the fighting going on between her and Ezra, Spencer was finally coming off learning that she wouldn't be going to U. Penn like the rest of her family, Emily had learned that she would never swim again because of an accident A had caused and Hanna was dealing with all the fighting that she and her Mom were doing.

Walking in the front doors of the school, Emily noticed a sign for Rosewoods yearly Talent Showcase. "Hey why don't we do this?" She asked.

Aria came to stand beside her, "You know this could be fun. We have never done it before." She said agreeing.

"I'm all for it as long as we can each do our thing. I love you all but I want some spotlight on me." Hanna said waving her hand like a pageant queen.

Spencer laughed as she got out a pen, "Okay Em, sign us up." She said handing her friend the pen.

The girls signed up for the Talent Showcase and put down singing for all of them. While they didn't know what they were each going to sing, they were ready to put on a show for their town. After Emily put all their names down, Hanna went off to find Caleb who she was going to force to sign up, Emily went to find Paige so they could continue to work things out and Spencer was off to the Chemistry lab for some extra time on her final project. Aria was the one left on the front steps distracted by the shagging blonde hair coming up talking to her little brother. It had been months since she had seen Jason and seeing him with Mike had all of the feelings she thought she taken care of rushing back.

Moving away from the door Aria watched her brother with Jason. They had this bond that she was jealous of. She and Mike had a good relationship especially after their family had found out why Mike had been acting out, but that wasn't what she was jealous of. She wanted to be able to be around Jason and have it be like it was 2 years ago when he first moved back, effortless. After he had admitted his feelings to her and she rejected him for Ezra, things had fallen apart and she didn't know how to put them back together. Not knowing how long he was in town for would drive her crazy, so she turned to go inside, not noticing Spencer watching her.

Spencer had known since the time that Jason had come home the first time that Aria was attracted to him. She had put in a huge fight with her over hanging out with him thinking he was a part of what had happened to Ali, the link between them all, but it turned out he hadn't been involved. The two had also discovered that they were half-siblings and had made great ways into that relationship. As she watched Aria, Spencer began to wonder if the fighting that was going on between Aria and Fitz was because Aria couldn't keep her mind from going back to the one guy who had her heart since they were thirteen. Admitting that Jason and Aria would be a cute couple and good together was just to gross for Spencer to admit to anyone besides herself.

Hanna had found Caleb playing on his laptop and had brought him out front to sign up for the Talent Showcase, but stopped when she saw Spencer watching Aria who was watching her brother Mike with Jason. It had ben months since he had been in town. Even though she and Caleb were happy, Hanna would admit to anyone who asked including her boyfriend that she didn't mind staring at the guy, he was a gorgeous piece of eye candy.

After her two friends had gone inside, Hanna drug her boyfriend over the sign-up sheet, "Put your name there" she said pointing to the line below her name.

"Hanna, I don't sing or do anything impressive unless you count my computer skills." Caleb said with a point.

"I don't care. You are going to do something for this showcase."

Taking her pen, "Okay, but what will I sing?" Caleb asked nervously, because he knew he was going to end up singing.

"I'm thinking some country, maybe Josh Turner." Hanna said smiling.

"Han, I love you, but I sound nothing like the guy." Caleb pleaded.

"Thanks okay. This is just for fun. Come on we only have a three months until we are done with high school and plus will that A stuff behind us we can finally embarrass ourselves the old fashion way."

Knowing he wouldn't be able to argue his way out of singing in the showcase Caleb put his name down.

Caleb was about to follow Hanna inside when he heard his name being called. Turning around he saw Jason, "Hey man. When did you get back?" he asked his friend.

"Yesterday. How have things been around here?" Jason asked curious about not only his home town but also a short brunette that had been watching him earlier.

"Things have great since A's reign of terror ended. The girls are all happy, well besides Aria who is fighting with Fitz like every day." Caleb answered honestly. He knew that Jason was most curious about the one girl over the group as a whole.

"I'm glad that they are all okay. I wish I had been here for the take down. It must've been epic." Jason said running a hand through his hair that needed a good cut.

"Why don't you just go talk to her?"

"Talk to who, Spencer? I will but she was probably going to do something nerdy and would take my head off if I interrupted." Jason said acting clueless.

"You know I'm not talking about Spencer. She missed you too, ya know. All the girls know it but they don't know what to do about it." Caleb said punching Jason's arm with a smile on his face.

"She's still with Fitz which means I don't stand a chance and I don't want to deal with a broken heart again. I need to find a way to be in Rosewood and not have my mind always wonder to Aria." Jason told Caleb, finally saying her name.

"Like I told you, all they do is fight anymore. Hanna says that they won't make it to the end of the year especially since he found out he has a son." Caleb said giving up more information than was needed.

"He has a son?" Jason said shocked.

"Yep." Caleb said grabbing his backpack and heading inside as the bell had rung. "Any way, just talk to her. See ya later though."

Jason said bye to Caleb with his head reeling. Fitz had a son, and he thought he was the biggest screw up Aria had ever been interested in. Spencer had told him that he wasn't the only one who had feelings when it had come to him and Aria. She also had told him that Aria didn't know exactly what she wanted; Fitz represented what she thought she wanted while he represented what as possibly what she needed, according to Spencer. As he went to open the door he noticed the sign for the town Talent Showcase and saw that all the girls had signed up and so had Caleb. Hanna's really got him whipped was all Jason could think, but he decided that Caleb shouldn't be the only guy being tortured that night and put his name down. Opening the door and heading inside all Jason thought about on his way to his office was how he had to talk to Aria before she left Rosewood High and possibly Rosewood for good. He needed to know how she truly felt about him.

Emily was the first one at their lunch table and all she could think about was her conversation with Paige that morning. They were getting along great again, but they had decided that getting back together would only hurt more after graduation so they decided to just stay close friends. She was actually okay with the decision because it meant that she and Paige could both go to college and become who they wanted to be without worrying about the other.

Lost in her own world Emily didn't notice her friends sit down with her, "Emily? Earth to Emily.." Hanna said waving her hand in front of her friends face.

Jumping, "Oh hey. When did you guys get here?" Emily asked turning pink.

"A minute or so ago." Spencer said matter of factly.

"Oh, so I think I know what I'm going to sing at the Talent Showcase." Aria said changing the subject.

"And what would that be? Something to do with a certain gorgeous blonde that is now back in town?" Hanna teased.

Turning crimson, "How did you know he was back? I just saw him this morning." Aria asked in a frantic tone. "Did you know he was coming back?"

"Aria calm down. No I just saw you watching him and Spencer being a creeper and watching you watch him." Hanna explained while looking at her frantic friend.

"Aria, is there something you'd like to tell us?" Spencer asked in a motherly tone.

"No! But I'm going to sing '_Always Something There to Remind Me_ by Naked Eyes' for the showcase" Aria said quickly getting up from the table and walking away quickly before her friends could question her about her choice.

Spencer, Hanna and Emily all looked at each other. None of them had known Jason was coming back into town, but apparently it was going to make the next three months interesting. "Well I guess we now know how she feels about him being back." Hanna stated.

"Hanna."

"What? Come on that songs says it all. She told us that she was over him, but when I saw her watching him this morning you could have set off a nuclear bomb and Aria wouldn't have noticed anything but him." Hanna noted honestly.

"But still Hanna, she is going through a lot right now. We need to stick together." Emily defended for their friend who was obviously dealing with something.

"Emily she may be dealing with something but what Hanna said is true. When Aria saw Jason it was like something out a movie. Her eyes never moved from him." Spencer explained.

Caleb, Toby and Jason were sitting in the courtyard catching up when Toby noticed Aria getting up and leaving the girls table inside looking upset. "Do you two always sit where you can see their table?" Jason asked trying to stifle a laugh.

"Yeah, we like to know what is going on." Caleb said throwing a fry at his friend.

"Plus this way we know when they want to come in and do something for them." Toby added.

"Wow. They have you two whipped." Jason said amused.

Ignoring Jason's comment, "Do you guys think Aria is okay? She looked pretty upset." Toby asked the other two guys.

"I don't know, but I do know not go and try to figure out what is wrong." Caleb said honestly. He got in enough trouble with Hanna when she was upset to even go near Aria.

"None of the other girls got up and went after her, so I think that maybe she just needs to be alone." Jason said looking through the window and making eye contact with Spencer.

"That's probably true. Plus I don't do well around girls crying." Toby stated.

The other two guys just nodded their heads in agreement.

"So Toby you're signing up for the Talent Showcase right? Jason and I already have." Caleb asked the only guy in the group left.

"Oh hell no."

"I want to see that argument hold up against Spencer." Jason said not able to hold in his laughter.

Through the rest of lunch the three guys caught up.

It was a good thing Aria knew her way to her Mom's room without having to look at door numbers. She was trying to keep the tears that were threatening to come from doing just that, but when she got to the room she wanted and saw her Mom kissing her new husband, Zack, the tears came. Crumpling to the floor Aria left the emotions she had been hiding and fighting for months come out and didn't care who saw.

Ella Montgomery had been enjoying a lovely lunch and kiss with her new husband, Zack, when she heard the door to her classroom open and someone crying. Pulling away from the kiss she saw that it was her daughter that was sobbing on the floor with the door wide open. Zack wasted no time and went to close the door while Ella sat down on the floor beside Aria and pulled her towards her. Zack knew that Aria was dealing with a lot at the moment and waved to his new wife knowing that she would know better want to do than he would. Ella blew a kiss to her departing husband before trying to decipher why Aria was crying.

Aria had heard the door shut and felt arms pulling her close so she didn't put up a fight. Leaning against her Mom, Aria let all of her emotions wash over her. All of the fighting with Ezra, the wanting to be done with their relationship but at the same time not wanting it to end and now Jason being back in town. Not being able to speak she just snuggled into the one person who would hold her until she was done. When the tears finally slowed down Aria lifted her head and looked at her Mom who looked worried.

"Do you want to talk about this now or later?" Ella asked her daughter.

"I would like to talk about it now, but I don't want to cry again." Aria answered in between hiccups.

Smoothing Aria's hair, "Why don't you go home early today. I'll tell all your teachers you aren't feeling well." Ella suggested.

"You're telling me to go home and skip the rest of my classes?" Aria asked in disbelief.

"Only this one time. I don't know what is wrong and I don't want to make you cry again, but something tells me that you being here the rest of the day will have you hiding in the bathroom crying." Ella explained her reasoning.

Not arguing with her Mom, Aria gathered her stuff off the floor and tried to make her face look more presentable so she could get to her car.

The lunch bell had long rung and the girls couldn't find Aria anywhere. "She can't really be that mad at us, can she" Hanna asked.

"Hanna I don't think she is mad. I think she is confused." Emily offered.

"Well we need to help her out. I know things with Ezra haven't been easy but she wouldn't be crying over that." Spencer said.

"Could she be crying over Jason? They didn't exactly leave things on the best terms." Emily asked the other two girls.

It hadn't occurred to any of them that that may just be the reason. "I say we do find her Mom and ask her if she has seen her." Hanna suggested.

So the girls made their way towards their English teacher's classroom having no idea who had overheard their conversation. Walking into the classroom Spencer was the first to ask, "Have you seen Aria? We haven't been able to find her since she ran out on us at lunch." She explained.

"I have girls, she was pretty upset so I suggested that she take the rest of the day off and go home to settle down." Ella told to her daughter's three best friends.

"You told her to skip school. You're officially the coolest Mom ever." Hanna said sounding jealous.

"Hanna I didn't do it to be cool. It was for her mental health. I don't know what made her upset, but something had her crying on my classroom floor and I knew that whatever that was would have her hiding in the bathroom doing the same thing." Ella explained.

"She was crying on the floor?" Emily asked sounding worried.

"Crying would be putting it calmly. She was more sobbing and shaking." Ella said quietly.

"Thanks for telling us. Would it be okay if we came by and saw her after school?" Spencer asked.

"How about I go home first and see how she is and then call and let you know." Ella responded.

"That works." The friends said as they left the classroom.

Jason had stopped when he heard Spencer and her friends mention his name and Aria. Not being able to hear the whole conversation because of the noisy hallway Jason had followed them to the former Mrs. Montgomery's classroom. He had heard through the grapevine at school that she had married the owner of The Brew. Jason had only met the guy once or twice but he seemed decent and had a better understanding of Ella than Byron so he was happy for her. Standing quiet in the hallway he heard Ella say that Aria had been sobbing in her room and had gone home from school with her permission to skip the rest of the day. He didn't like the feeling in his stomach as he thought about Aria crying because of him. When he had gotten in the night before he hadn't meant to come to work today, but Mike had called him and needed to talk. Walking away from the classroom Jason hoped he wasn't the reason Aria had gone home crying, he wouldn't be able to deal with that guilt, after all he was in love with her and had been since he was a senior at Rosewood High.

Aria had made it to her car and home before the tears started again. She saw Zack's car in the driveway but she knew he wouldn't care that she was home plus she was sure her Mom had called and told him to expect her to come home. Opening the door and going inside Aria could hear Zack in the kitchen, passing it she went upstairs. Putting her stuff on the armchair she had in room she went over to her stereo and put in a Glee cd and set it to repeat _Get It Right_. It had been the soundtrack to her life lately. Every time she played it she felt like Rachel knew exactly how she was feeling. Curling into a ball on her bed Aria let her mind wander to whether or not she had made the right choice in choosing Ezra two years ago while tears streamed down her face. The past two years had been filled with fights and never ending stupid arguments, but Aria was sure she was in love with Ezra or she had been until today when she Jason again. Slowly she let the darkness coming from her crying take her over and she fell into a sleep caused by heartbreak and unknowingness.

Zack had been in the kitchen when Aria had come in. Ella had called to tell him that she was coming home and she was upset. Being as that Aria wasn't really his kid he didn't know how far to step in but as he went upstairs toward Aria's room he could hear the familiar song that she had been playing on repeat for as long as Zack could think back. He was beginning to believe that the song was preaching to whatever she was going through. Slowly opening her door, Zack saw her curled into a ball and sleeping, grabbing the light blanket she kept out he put it over her and turned the song up a little as to drown out any noise that may come into the house.

After lunch the school day seemed to take forever to get through. The girls just wanted to go and check on Aria. They all hoped that they hadn't made her upset, they all knew that there had been a possibility that Aria wasn't over losing Jason in her life. After the last bell rang they all went to Spencer's house to wait for Aria's Mom to call them with whether or not they could come over.

Ella rushed home after school to check on Aria. After her episode at school all Ella could think about was how upset she had been and how she needed to know so she could try and fix whatever had hurt her little girl. Rushing through the front door she was greeted by Zack who grabbed her arm and spun her around into him when she tried to go upstairs, "She's sleeping and has been since she got home." She got told.

"Did she say anything?"

"No. She came in, went upstairs, put on the same song that has been playing nonstop for months now and fell asleep." Zack told his worried wife.

Putting her forehead against her husband's chest, "I just wish I knew what caused her to break down. Everything with A is settled and this is her senior year. She should be enjoying this time not crying." Ella stated not expecting an answer. "I have to call the girls. They're worried about her."

Picking up the phone, Ella dialed the Hastings number.

Spencer answered the ringing phone knowing it Aria's Mom, "Hello. Hi. Can we come see her?" She asked.

"I'm sorry, but she is sleeping and I don't want to wake her up. Maybe tomorrow because I'm not expecting her to go to school." Ella told her daughters friends through the phone.

"Okay. Thanks." Spencer said disappointed.

"So can we?" Hanna asked.

"No she's sleeping and we shouldn't expect her at school tomorrow." Spencer told her two friends.

"We have a right to know why she is upset just as much as her Mom." Emily said annoyed.

"I know, but we also can push Aria. If she broke down at school today, can you imagine what would happen if we pushed to get answers from her." Spencer shot at her friend angry.

"Alright enough arguing. I say we meet up tomorrow morning and see if we can put together ourselves what pushed Aria over the edge of emotions." Hanna said stepping between her two angry friends.

They both agreed.

Aria woke up several hours later to her Mom sitting in the arm chair watching her. She sat up feeling a little better than she had when got home from school. Her stereo had been turned down but you could still hear all the words. Ella got up and moved across her daughter's room to sit on her bed, "Are you okay?" She asked worried.

"I don't know Mom. I'm so confused." Aria said fighting back the tears that were coming again. "I thought I was over Jason and then I saw him with Mike and I got jealous and then I couldn't stop thinking about him and I how I screwed everything up. I've missed him and I want him to know that and I want things to back to the way things were before everything." She finished with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Ella put her arms around Aria's shoulders, "Honey, I think the reason this is affecting you so much is because you may now have to admit how you truly feel about Jason DiLaurentis. When he was gone you could deny the feelings and try to make things work with Ezra, but now you can't anymore." She said rubbing her daughters back. "I think you are in love with Jason. And before you jump and say no I want you to listen. Right after Jason left you started to listen to this song and the girl is singing about not being able to do anything right and that is how you feel when it comes to Jason. You know you hurt him and you don't know how to get past that and make things better. A part you may love Ezra, but you have been **IN** love with Jason since you were thirteen."

"You think I'm **IN** love with Jason?" Aria asked with tears coming down.

"I do, but I also know how much you don't want that to be true."

"Actually Mom, I think I want it to be true. I have missed Jason more than my friends know and also you and Zack. For past couple of weeks I have been going to his house and sitting on the front porch and crying my eyes out. I never meant to hurt him, never. At the time Ezra made more sense, my friends liked him and trusted him and then there was Jason the guy I couldn't keep out my mind but my friends hated." Aria said as her shoulder started to shake more.

Ella moved out the way and laid Aria back down and rubbed her back until she was asleep again.

Walking downstairs Ella Montgomery finally realized what had caused her daughters break down and that this wasn't the first time it had happened. Aria was broken hearted over breaking Jason's heart and didn't know how to fix. The song choice also made perfect sense for the fact that Aria felt like everything was her fault and that she couldn't do anything right. Mike came into the living room with Zack from the kitchen, "Is Aria okay?" he asked worried about his big sister.

"She will be, but she is going to need some time and help." Ella explained and looked at Zack specifically.

"Uh-oh, why do I feel as though I'm about to be sent on some dangerous mission." He said tensed.

"Not dangerous physically, emotionally maybe. I'd like you to talk to Jason DiLaurentis for me. I need to know if there is a way that Aria can fix what happened between them." Ella told her husband.

"Why can't I ask him Mom? I know him." Mike asked hurt.

"Mike I need you to keep an eye on Aria. She needs someone to trust and right now her friends are the last people she wants to talk to about Jason."

"I don't know El, Mike knows Jason better than I do. Wouldn't it make more sense to have him talk to him." Zack said stepping in for Mike.

"It would in a normal situation yes, but this situation requires Aria having no idea about the contact." Ella explained and saw the light bulbs go off above her son's and husband's heads.


	2. Thursday

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars or these characters. Not written for money, only enjoyment. **

Here is the second chapter of my story. I hope you have enjoyed it so far. I promise to get to the showcase in the next chapter, I just needed to layout the background.

_Thank you to the guest and kelseycochran96 for your reviews. I really appreciate them even if they are criticism. _

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Ella didn't wake Aria the next morning, she decided that her sleeping was a better way to go that day. She knew in time that Aria would be okay but time was something they didn't have a lot of. Walking downstairs and into the kitchen which smelled amazing she greeted Mike and Zack, "Good morning."

"Morning Mom." Mike said sleepily. "Can I go back to bed and take today off like Aria?"

"You already know the answer to that question Mike, plus you have that Spanish quiz today don't you?"

"Yeah unfortunately. It's a good thing I have friends who are good in Spanish or I'd be failing." Mike said joking.

"You better not fail." Zack entered into the conversation. "I don't want to hear your Mom yell at you." He said smiling at Mike. They already had a bound.

Ella couldn't help but smile at the two guys in her kitchen it was nice to have a home that felt like home. After her divorce from her first husband, Byron, things had been rocky. Her children had been miserable living with him and she had started dating which led to her marrying Zack, a guy much younger than herself. Byron had given their home to her as a form of saying sorry for cheating on her with his TA. As Zack moved in the house slowly became theirs and the kids.

"Ella, what are you thinking? You have this satisfied smile on your face." Zack asked putting his arms around her shoulders.

Leaning into him, "I was just thinking about how this house is finally starting to feel like a home again." She said closing her eyes and smelling fresh muffins cooking.

"You know Mom, that's true. Ever since you two got married things have been better." Mike agreed.

Zack just squeezed Mike's shoulder on his way to the stove.

Looking at the clock, "Oh Mike grab me one of those strawberry/banana muffins. We need to go or we will be late." Ella said rushing to gather her stuff.

Kissing his wife and nodding at Mike, Zack was left in the house with a sleeping Aria and time to figure out how to approach Jason DiLaurentis, a guy he didn't know. Grabbing the phone Zack knew most of his staff were Rosewood kids and would know Jason so he called to have them call him when he came into the shop so Zack could talk to him on neutral ground, of a sort.

* * *

Aria woke up to her stomach growling. She hadn't eaten anything since yesterday around lunch time. Looking around her room she realized it was around lunch time again, getting out of bed and heading down stairs Aria was greeted by the smell of fresh baked muffins. Heading in the kitchen following her grumbling stomach and nose she was greeted by Zack as she sat down.  
"Would you like a blueberry strawberry muffin?" Zack asked pulling them out of the oven.

Nodding, "You bet I would. You're one of the best pastry chefs I know." Aria told him, taking a muffin. It was warm and smelled amazing.

Zack grabbed two cups of coffee and sat down, "So are you feeling any better? You had a pretty rough day yesterday." He asked genuinely concerned.

Aria thought for a moment, "I guess I'm getting there. I don't know exactly how I'll be able to do school now that Jason is back but I'll figure it out." She finally said.

"If it's not asking too much, what exactly happened between you and Jason?"

"A lot of things that led to me breaking his heart. When he first came back to town two years ago I was the only one of my friends to approach him and become his friend. Feelings I'm guessing we both had for each other came in and he told me that he cared about me and I told him I was unavailable, which I was, but a part of me wanted Jason. In the end I chose Ezra and Jason left. I never had a chance to explain why I did what I did. Not that I blame Jason for hating me."

"Wow" Zack said rubbing his neck, "I don't think he hates you. I think he is hurt, but I also think that if he told you how he really felt he probably still feels the same way. But then again I don't really know the guy, but with how your Mom talks about how he helped Mike and you I can say I think he is probably a decent guy."

"He is. He really is. I just wish I knew how to get him back in my life." Aria said shrugging her shoulders. "I miss him. More than I can admit to anyone."

"I can see and I bet that your friends would understand if you told them how you really feel. And I'm also betting that Jason would let you make your case if you were completely honest with him."

Staring at Zack, "You think so?" Aria asked nervously, "My friends aren't exactly Jason's biggest fans, but he might be more level headed."

"You never know until you try."

Smiling, "You know you're pretty good at this advice stuff." Aria said standing to put her plate and mug in the sink.

Walking back over to the table Aria put her arms around Zack's neck and gave him hug. "Thank you. I really needed someone to talk to. I love my Mom but she is such a Mom sometimes." She said.

Squeezing her arm, "Anytime Aria. I may not have this whole Dad thing down but I'll be around to listen if you need me." Zack told her.

Aria pulled away and looked at him with tears in her eyes, "Oh God Aria I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry." Zack said standing up quickly.

"Oh no it's not you. It's just Jason always use to say I could come to him with anything." Aria said wiping away the tears, "It just brought back some feelings."

Pulling the teenager into another hug, "You really do miss him don't you?" Zack asked rhetorically.

Aria just squeezed his middle and cried for several minutes. Pulling away Aria wiped her eyes, "I'm going to take a shower and get ready to face the rest of the day."

"Okay. Is there any kind of muffin or pastry you would like me to make? I'm working from here today." Zack asked heading over to the counter.

"Hmm. Oo how about those cinnamon sugar croissants you made in January. They were amazing." Aria said smiling.

"I hadn't thought of those. That's a good idea. They tend to be very good sellers." Zack said back and smiled as Aria headed up stairs.

Once out of the shower Aria felt like a new woman. Her head was clear and she was actually ready to work on the home work her Mom had brought home for her. Settling down in the living room, she put the Glee cd in the stereo and set it to repeat and sat down ready to tackle the work in front of her. She was almost done with all of her work when the doorbell rang. Looking at the clock she realized that it was after school so it was probably the girls coming to make sure she was still alive.

Answering the door answered her thought, "Hey girls. Come on in" Aria said moving out the way of the door.

Spencer, Hanna and Emily all headed inside and sat down in the living room.

"We thought you had died." Hanna said dramatically. "Now please tell us that your break down yesterday had nothing to do with Jason DiLaurentis being back in town."

Aria looked at her socked feet, Emily smacked Hanna's arm and glared at her, and Spencer got up and hugged Aria close.

"That's what caused it wasn't it?" Spencer asked in a cautious tone not wanting to make Aria break down again.

Nodding, "I thought I was done with how I felt about him and then I saw him and everything came back. We never got to talk and make things right. I know I hurt him, but I didn't mean too, I never wanted to hurt him." Aria mumbled so that only Spencer could hear and the tears started to pour.

Emily and Hanna both jumped up and joined in on the hug. None of the girls talked while Aria cried. They didn't know to help her with this, she had been saying since Jason left that she was fine. But they all heard the Glee song playing the background and knew that Aria hadn't only been lying to herself, but also to them.

The phone ringing broke the friends apart, Aria was wiping her eyes and her were looking at her worried.

"Who got the phone?" Emily asked.

"Zack. He was working from home today. I don't think my Mom wanted me home alone." Aria explained.

"That makes sense. You need some human contact going through this." Spencer said.

Coming into the living room, "Aria, I have to head to The Brew. Something has come up that I have to handle." Zack told her.

"Okay. I hope everything is okay."

"Everything is fine, but an order got mixed up so I have to call and get it fixed." Zack smiled, "Got to love owning your own business. Tell your Mom I'll talk to her when I get home."

"Will do. Hope it all gets worked out."

"That's funny." Emily said shaking her head.

"What?" Aria asked.

"Well deliveries don't come on Thursdays. Zack has everything delivered on Tuesdays." Emily explained.

"Maybe something didn't come in on Tuesday." Hanna suggested.

"That could be. Or he had to order more of something and it got mixed up. We were running low on sugar." Emily agreed.

Heading back to the couch the girls didn't discuss Zack or The Brew. They talked about what they were all going to sing at the Talent Showcase: Emily was going to sing, _I Knew You Were Trouble_ by Taylor Swift, Hanna was singing, _She's In Love With A Boy_ by Trisha Yearwood, Spencer went with, _If You Ask Me Too_ by Celine Dion which surprised all of them. The girls even knew what Toby, Caleb and Jason were going to sing.

Shaking, "I didn't know Jason was doing the showcase." Aria said looking like she was going to be sick.

"He only signed up so that Caleb and Toby wouldn't have to be alone and putting up with us." Hanna explained. "Aria it'll be okay. If you want we can keep you away from him Saturday night."

"Hanna's right. You won't have to see him if you don't want." Spencer said.

"No, it's okay. I need to face him somehow. Maybe the showcase would be a good time. There will be people around." Aria stated wringing her hands.

"Aria, you don't have to lie to us anymore. We all know you're not over him." Emily said taking her friends hand.

That broke Aria, "I didn't mean to lie to you guys. I just knew that you didn't trust or like him and I didn't know how to tell you that I had feelings for him that went beyond being friends." Aria said starting to cry.

Hanna and Spencer moved in closer, "It's okay, but why did you choose Ezra when you had feelings for Jason?" Spencer asked sounding a little angry. Her half-brothers heart could have been spared if Aria had been honest with herself.

Looking at her friend, "Please Spencer. You know I would never mean to hurt Jason, but at the time none of you liked him or trusted him. It was either I fight with all of you on a daily basis or stay in relationship you all trusted. And no I'm not blaming any of you for what I did. I take full responsibility. I just wish I knew how to make it better." Aria stated in a sad tone. She looked beyond upset at how things had happened and the tears were just falling now.

Spencer looked at Aria and knew her friend wasn't lying. None of them had made it easy on Aria to be around Jason. They had never thought about how she might feel about him. "I get it Aria. I just don't like seeing you or Jason upset." Spencer said giving her friend another hug.

Zack had gotten the call from The Brew telling him that Jason had come in and was sitting down to read the paper. Rushing towards his establishment Zack was nervous he didn't know how to approach a guy he didn't know about Aria, the daughter of his new wife. Walking through the front door his cashier just pointed towards the back of the shop at the blonde guy reading the paper. Stopping to ask, "What's he drinking?" Zack got a hold of a mug of black coffee and headed back.

Setting the mug down in front of Jason, "Mind if I sit?" Zack asked.

Jason looked up from the paper confused, "Sure. But do I know you?" he asked.

"No. I'm Zack. I married the former Mrs. Montgomery, Ella." Zack explained.

"I heard about that. Congrats. She's a really nice lady. Her kids are great too." Jason said

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about." Zack said looking Jason straight in the eye.

"Is everything okay? Mike hasn't started acting up again has he? Is Aria still being stalked?" Jason asked in a hurried fashion setting down the paper.

"Everything is okay. Mike is fine and doing great I think him knowing he can turn to you is helping him out a lot. Aria on the other hand is having a hard time."

"She is? I didn't realize me coming home would upset her this much. Maybe I should go back to Georgia." Jason said rubbing his neck looking upset.

"No, please don't leave again. You being home isn't what upset Aria. She is upset because she now has to face all of her feelings for you, the ones she thought left when you did. You have no idea how guilty she feels about everything." Zack explained quickly. This was not how this conversation was supposed to go.

"What do you mean face the feelings she has for me? She made it pretty clear before I left that she had no feelings for me."

"You had a little sister right?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, Ali. She is how I first met Aria and the other girls." Jason answered.

"Well did she ever lie about her feelings for someone to you or act differently towards someone when she was dating someone else?"

"Ali wasn't the type to ignore her feelings. She would have dated both guys at the same time. But what does that have to do with Aria?"

"From the way Ella explained it to me, when you told Aria you cared about her two years she was beyond thrilled but also confused. She thought she had found her prince charming in Ezra and then there you were. The guy she couldn't stop thinking about, the one who could take her away from everything bad in her life, make her feel safe. She didn't know how to handle what she was feeling so she stuck by Ezra because he had been the constant in her life at that point. She never meant to hurt you and regrets it big time." Zack told the older DiLaurentis kid.

Jason sat back in his chair and just stared at Zack. The guy had made some points that Jason couldn't ignore. He had come into Aria's life again unexpectedly and had kind of thrown his feelings for her at her not really knowing how she would react.

Zack could tell that the guy was processing, but he needed to one more thing, "I hate to ask this especially since you just got back into town, but do you think you could ever forgive Aria?" Zack asked in a kind voice.

"There is nothing really to forgive. She did what was best for her at the time. I can't really be mad at her for it. I just really want the truth from her. I think for both of us to move on she needs to figure out how she really feels about me and let me know." Jason stated.

"That makes sense. I'll let you get back to your coffee and paper. Have a good evening." Zack said standing up and walking away.

All Jason could do was nod at the guy.

Ella came home and found her daughter and her friends laughing in the living room. Standing back she watched as the girls enjoyed each other's company, it was nice to see Aria smiling and laughing again but she did wonder how long it would last. Finally stepping into sight, "Hey girls. How is everything going?" She asked.

Hanna giggled, "Everything is good. We are just discussing what the guys are singing for the Talent Showcase." Trying to hold back her laughter Hana explained.

Smiling, "Oh dear. I'm guessing they picked some funny songs or something. Oh and I saw that Ezra signed up sing. Did you all ask him too." She asked.

All eyes turned to Aria, "Ezra is singing in the show too?" she asked in a low voice.

"Yes, but what is wrong with that? Maybe he wants to finally show you two off in town?" Ella thought out loud.

Aria just squeaked and looked at her hands as they started to shake.

"Jason is singing in the show also. He didn't want Toby and Caleb to have to do it by themselves." Spencer explained.

Finally understanding Ella looked at her daughter and could see the pain in her eyes. It was almost a blessing that graduation was only three months away, she thought.

"Aria, you don t have to sing if you don't want too." Emily said.

"No, I will. I need too." Aria said quietly.

None of the other women argued knowing that Aria really did need to do this for herself.

"Okay girls so what are the guys singing?" Ella asked trying to change the conversation.

Emily laughed, "Caleb is singing _Firecracker_ by Josh Turner cause Hanna is his little firecracker or something like that, Toby is singing _Anywhere With You_ by Jake Owen which is self-explanatory for him and Spencer and Jason is singing _Til My Last Day_ by Justin Moore." She got out before rolling on the floor.

All of the girls smiled except Aria. "Well I do have to say that the guys are very transparent in their choices, but I'm sure they will put on a good show." Ella said looking around, "Where is Zack? I thought he was working from home today." She asked.

"Oh he got a call from The Brew. Something about an order or something being mixed up. He had to go in and fix it." Hanna explained.

"Oh okay. Well girls I think it may be time for you all to go home. Aria needs to sleep." Ella said looking at her daughter who had been quiet since finding out Ezra was going to be in the showcase.

The girls all said their goodbyes. None of them knew what to say to Aria besides they would stand beside her whatever her decision. They all knew that she was going to torture herself about the whole situation. Leaving the house, "Can we talk to Jason for her?" Emily asked.

"NO! She needs to do this on her own." Spencer snapped.

"Look Spencer we get it. She hurt him, but can't you see how hurt she is. Maybe if we all had been more understanding two years ago things would be different now." Hanna snapped at Spencer.

"Emily I'm sorry I snapped at you. I just think that Aria needs to face up to her mistakes and talk to Jason by herself and make things right without anyone else's help."

None of them knew that Aria had heard the whole conversation. She had run out after them because Hanna had forgot her bracelet, the one Caleb had given her after the whole A mess ended, she never took it off. Hearing how Spencer really felt about her situation broke Aria's heart more but she couldn't blame her for being mad. Jason was the only family that Spencer had that actually seemed to care about her. Aria didn't want her friends to know she had heard the conversation so she just ran back inside and up to her room.

Slamming the door shut Aria threw herself on her bed and started to cry. She hated crying it felt like that was all she did anymore. Not wanting to talk she didn't roll over when her Mom came into room.

Ella had heard Aria run back into the house and up to her room. She had no idea what had upset her but she knew it was probably something Spencer had said. The girl was smart and a loyal friend but she could be single minded sometimes. Turning off the stereo down stairs she got the cd out and headed up to her daughters room. Opening the door she went to the stereo and put the cd in and set it up to repeat. As a Mom she knew that Aria would not be coming down stairs to talk anytime soon. She just hoped that she would in the days to come, because with both of her love interests performing the pain was only to get harder to ignore.

Zack opened the front door and walked into the house as Ella was coming down the stairs. "I just saw the girls leaving. Is everything okay?" he asked worried.

"I think Aria heard Spencer say something and it upset her. She's upstairs dealing. How is everything at work? The girls told me that an order or something had gotten mixed up." Ella said changing the subject.

"Oh, everything is fine. I got all of my shipments on Tuesday. I said that because I was going to talk to Jason." Zack explained. "I called earlier today and asked that they call me when he came into the shop so I could talk to him."

"So did you talk to him?" Ella asked anxiously. She was ready for this mess to be over with.

"I did. He isn't mad at Aria. I think he wishes he could be though. He also told me that for both him and Aria to move on they need to know how she really feels about him."

"That's a tall order."

"I know, but he is also right. Aria will never be able to move if she doesn't face how she feels about him."

Ella knew that Zack was right so she just wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him close. Zack returned his wife's affection not letting the upsetting subject stop the affection.

Mike Montgomery walked in on his Mom and her new husband, Zack, hugging in the entry way. He liked the guy. Zack didn't bug him about how school he left that for Mom, but the best part was that he was like Jason, the big brother kind of guy that Mike had never had. He loved having Aria as his older sister, but it was nice to have a guy in the house who understood what it meant to just be a guy some days. Walking around the two he headed upstairs. Going past his sister's room he could hear the same stupid song that she had been playing for months on end now. When is she going to get over this and just move on, Mike thought. But when he opened her door to check on her he could hear her whispering, I'm sorry, I didn't mean too, I never meant to hurt you, Please forgive me, I care about you too, I don't know what I want anymore. Mike couldn't help it he set his stuff down by her door and went to sit on her bed. Aria didn't move when he sat down so he gently pulled her to him. She was now propped against her brother and clung to him and kept repeating everything. Stroking her hair and letting her cry, Mike couldn't help but feel bad for her, she was going through something that no one knew how to help with. Several minutes later Aria's body had gotten heavy and Mike knew she had cried herself to sleep or into exhaustion. Either way she was heavy so he laid her down on her bed, kissed her temple, told her he loved her, covered her up and shut her door.

As he shut Aria's door he ran into his Mom with tears in her eyes. "Oh God not you too Mom. I can't handle another girl crying." Mike said with attitude.

"I'm not crying Mike. I'm just so proud of you. Aria didn't ask you to comfort her but you did anyway. I know you hate this lovely dovey stuff but I'm happy to see you making an effort to help her." Ella explained to her uncomfortable son.

His Mom was right, Mike hated all of the lovey dovey stuff but he was worried about Aria. He just didn't know how to help her.

Spencer had gone home after going to see Aria. It had been a good afternoon besides for Hanna and Emily defending the fact that if they all had been more accepting than Jason and Aria would probably be together. Aria was a big girl, she didn't need her friends permission to date a guy, was all that kept going through Spencer head. She had watched Jason pine after her friend and it broke her heart because Jason was hurting. Sitting in her room she could see Jason's car pull into his drive, she got up and headed over to the house.

Jason was getting out his car when he saw Spencer. She didn't look happy which was never a good sign. He went through everything that had happened the past few days trying to think of anything he may have done to make her angry.

Coming up with nothing, "Hey Spence. What's wrong? You look like you're ready to take someone's head off." He said casually.  
"I am. I'm ready to strangle Aria. She is acting like she is the only one hurting in this whole mess. I just can't believe how much she is acting like Alison. It's making me sick." Spencer growled.

Meeting her angry gaze, "Don't take your frustration out on Aria." He snapped at his half-sister.

"You're defending her? To me? Have you lost your mind? She broke your heart and now she is acting like she is the one hurting." Spencer yelled at him.

"She is hurting Spencer! We both are. I'm just better at hiding it." Jason yelled back. "Look you need to go home and I need to cool off. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Jason said as he headed towards his door.

"You're still not over her. You still love her even though she broke your heart when she chose Ezra." Spencer said amazed.

Spinning around, "Drop it Spencer!" Jason growled, the anger showing in his eyes. Before he could say anything he may truly regret Jason walked inside his house and slammed the door.

Ever since finding out that Jason was her half-brother Spencer had never really been frightened of him until then. He had looked so angry. She hadn't meant to upset him she just wanted the truth. Turning away from his house she made her way home and couldn't get the look in eyes out of her head. Not the angry ones but the ones when he had said that Aria was hurting too. It was the same hurt she had seen in Aria's eyes when they had gone by to see her after school. Realizing it to late Spencer let it all wash over her. Aria was in love with Jason and wanted to make things right even if meant losing him while Jason couldn't seem to move on from the feelings he had for her.

After walking into his house and slamming the door Jason almost put his fist through the wall in the entry way. He hadn't been this mad in a long time, not since Ali had been alive. Hearing Spencer talk about Aria like she wasn't hurting had killed him. He knew he should feel the way Spencer did, but he didn't. After talking to Zack at The Brew he drove around town for a while. He had ended up at the park watching parents with their kids, he noticed Ezra with a little boy who looked a lot like him and a strawberry blonde lady he assumed was the mother. The whole time he had watched them all Jason could think about was how would Aria's kids look. Would they have her dark hair and green eyes? Walking towards the kitchen Jason calmed down. He grabbed a bottle of water from his fridge; he needed to focus on the new file the principal had given him that afternoon. It was for a guy who sounded a lot like Jason, he came from a good home, was the oldest with a sibling who got more attention and now he was acting out in the only way that would get him attention.

* * *

It was after eleven when Aria finally woke up. Sitting up she couldn't get her mind off Jason. There's no time like the present her mind told her. Changing into some leggings and a long sweater Aria headed down the stairs.

Mike had heard his sister moving around in her room and then saw the light go out and heard the stairs creak. Following her he watched her head towards the front door, "Aria where are you going? It's after eleven." Mike asked.

"I'm going to see Jason. I need to talk to him."

"It can wait until tomorrow Aria."

"No I need to talk to him now." Aria screamed at her little brother as tears started to pour out of eyes.

"Aria stop yelling you'll wake Mom and Zack. I'm sorry, but come on he is probably sleeping like you should be." Mike said taking her hand trying to lead her back upstairs.

Pulling her hand from her brother, "I DON'T CARE IF I WAKE UP MOM AND ZACK!" Aria yelled and ran out the door.

Zack and Ella both ran down the stairs as the door slammed shut. "What happened? Where is she going?" Ella asked frantically.

"I'm sorry Mom. I wasn't trying to make her mad. I just. She doesn't need to be walking to his house at this hour." Mike explained upset.

Putting his hand on Mike's shoulder, "It's alright Mike. I don't think anything short of a tranquilizer could have stopped Aria from going to Jason's." Zack said in a comforting tone.

Ella and Mike both just stared at Zack. Both of them had been thinking it but hadn't said it. Deciding it was best to let Aria go on her own the three went to wait in the kitchen.

Aria half walked half ran to Jason's house. By the time she got to the porch she was shaking so hard with sobs that she couldn't even knock on the door. Sitting down on the front steps Aria just let it all out. Jason was inside thinking of how in world he was going to reach this kid. He was meeting him tomorrow and if he was anything really like a younger version of himself it was going to take something happening for the kid to get shaken up enough to change. Sitting up he could hear the faint sounds of someone sobbing, moving towards his front door the sound got louder, opening his front door he found Aria sitting on the step making the noise. Leaving the door open, Jason picked up Aria and carried her inside.

Once inside Jason went back to his couch and just held the girl he was in love with while she cried. Finally feeling the waves of tear stopping Aria looked up into Jason's worried eyes and moved out of his lap.

Shaking, "I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I didn't know how to tell you about my feelings. My friends hated you and Ezra was the safe choice two years. I shouldn't have let them dictate who I dated. I made a huge mistake. I would completely understand if you wanted to cut me out of your life completely. I just want you to forgive me. I just need you to know that I care about you too." Aria said while fighting the oncoming slaught of hiccups. "I never should have ignored how I felt about. It made me lose you and I can't stand it anymore. I want you in my life. Actually I need you in my life. I miss being able to turn to you when I needed someone to talk to. No I don't mean just like that. I just I don't know anymore." She finished as she wrung her hands as if she had an invisible towel in them.

Jason sat for a moment he knew that Aria was being honest, "Aria, you aren't going to lose me. My going to Georgia wasn't all about getting away from you. I needed to figure out if I could be happy anywhere else besides Rosewood. It turns out I can't. I don't hate you, I never could you. And if I'm honest with myself my heart breaking wasn't entirely your fault, I wish I could blame it all on you, but that wouldn't be fair. See I kept pursuing you even after I knew you were unavailable." He said taking her hands in his.

Aria looked up with tears spilling from her eyes, "Can we fix this?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know. I know I still care about you, but you are still with Ezra and I won't be a second choice or an affair. If you want to be with me I need you to commit to it and be in the relationship 100%." Jason answered.

Feeling another way of tears coming Aria put her face in her hands and started to shake. "I can't… I can't… I can't lose you. I don't want an affair I want someone to love me." She said crying.

Jason didn't say anything. He just pulled her onto his lap and let her cry out what she was feeling. It was the first honest conversation they had had in months. It felt horrible having her crying but at the same time he knew he was getting the truth. Pulling her in closer Jason rested his head on hers and let her cry in his arms. For once in a long time his heart wasn't breaking when his mind went to think about Aria, he actually felt full. Soon Aria's body stopped shaking and Jason knew she had cried herself into exhaustion because she had gotten heavy on his body. Slowly he rose from the couch, leaning Aria fully against him he grabbed his keys and headed towards his car in the driveway.

Once he got Aria situated in his passenger seat and the car started, Jason called Ella to tell her that he was bringing Aria home and that she was asleep. Making the short drive was easy, handing Aria over to Zack, who was going to put her bed, was much harder. He watched as Aria was taken from his arms and upstairs towards her bedroom. Ella watched Jason as Zack took Aria, she could see the love on his face and he wasn't bothering to hide it.

Pulling the door too, Ella joined Jason on the front porch. "Did you two talk?" She asked.

"Yeah we did. There is still a lot to discuss, but I don't want Aria hurting anymore and I think tonight we made our way to helping both of our hearts out." Jason answered.

"I wish I could say I'm sorry she came over to your house, but I'm glad to see that your love for my daughter has diminished."

"Ella I think I'm going to always love Aria. I don't want to let her go. I want to be in her life, but like I told her I won't be an affair or a second choice. If she wants to be with me then it needs to be 100% or nothing at all."

"I understand Jason. I really do. I also know that Aria won't let you go without a fight. Regardless of her feelings for Ezra, her feelings for you always show through even to him. I think that maybe part of the reason that he is spending so much time with Malcolm."

Jason didn't know what to say about the teacher, but he did know what to say about Aria, "I want her in my life. I want to be with her. I want to call her mine. I want it all." Jason told Ella honestly, "But I also have to know that she wants the same thing. I can be patient but I'm not a saint."

"No one is expecting you to be Jason. Give Aria till Saturday and I'm sure you will have your answer."

Walking towards a boy she had watched grow up Ella gave Jason a hug and told him to trust what Aria had told him that night. Jason hugged Ella back and told her he would because he knew she had been honest.


	3. Friday

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars or these characters. Not written for money, only enjoyment. **

So I had fully intended on this chapter being the showcase but then I realized I would be skipping a whole day in the timeline. So adding this chapter will actually help with the showcase. I hope you are enjoying the story so far.

_Please don't be afraid to review. I appreciate them all. _

* * *

Aria was awake, ready for school and getting a muffin for breakfast when Ella and Mike came downstairs. Both stopped when they saw Aria standing in the kitchen. "Honey are you sure you want to go to school today?" Ella asked.

"I'm sure Mom. I've done enough wallowing and talking to Jason last night helped. Now I just need to talk to Ezra and move on." Aria answered grabbing a mug of coffee.

Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, "It's good to have my sister back." Mike said hugging her.

Returning the hug, "I'm not all the way back, but I'm definitely much closer than I was the past few days."

The three sat down and ate breakfast, Zack had left early to open The Brew and check on things. Conversation was light as they all got their belongings ready to go. Walking out the door Ella asked, "Do you kids want a ride? I know it's uncool to arrive with Mom but."

"I'll take one Mom. I have to talk to coach." Mike answered.

"Thanks Mom, but I think I'm going to walk. It'll be nice to get my head together before going into the lions dens with the girls." Aria answered.

"Okay. Be careful. See you at school". Ella told her daughter. She had no doubt that Aria was going to make it to school and the day. Aria was looking like a new person after her late night conversation with Jason.

Spencer hadn't seen Jason since the afternoon before and she left horrible for how she had pushed him. She just didn't like to see him hurting. Jason opened his front door and walked out and found Spencer sitting on his front steps much like Aria had been hours earlier.

Locking his door, "What do you need Spencer?" He asked.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean to attack you yesterday about how you feel about Aria. It's really none of my business. I just don't like seeing you hurt." Spencer said standing up.

Pulling his half-sister in, "It's okay Spencer. I knew what you were doing yesterday. I'm sorry I lost my temper. It's something I'm still working on." Jason said giving her a hug.

"So we're okay?" Spencer said not letting go.

"Yeah we're okay. Would you like a ride to school?" Jason asked stepping back.

"A ride would be great." Spencer answered as Jason unlocked his car.

The two siblings rode in silence most of the way to school until Spencer saw Aria walking by herself, "Jason pull over. I need to talk to Aria before we get to school." Spencer said opening the door before he had fully stopped.

"You know you're going to get yourself killed if you keep opening doors before the car stops moving." He joked with as she got out.

Spencer feeling mature just stuck her tongue out at him.

Jason just smirked and waved to Aria before continuing towards the school.

The two girls just stood and stared at each other. Neither of them sure how to start a conversation. Taking the lead, "I talked to Jason last night." Aria said turning and starting to walk again.

"You did?" Spencer said as she caught up.

"Yeah. He told me that I had to choose and that he wouldn't be a second choice or affair. And that I have to be in the relationship 100%." Aria explained the basics of the conversation.

"What did you tell him?" Spencer asked scared of the answer, "I mean are you willing to do that?"

Stopping and looking Spencer straight in the eye, "I told him that I couldn't lose him and that I need someone to love me." Aria answered, "I'm more than willing to do that. I need to reassure Jason of that and I'm willing to do anything to do that."

Spencer didn't try to catch up to Aria, but she was smiling. Her friend had finally been honest with herself. She had seen Jason wave at Aria and the look in his eye when he had. Both of them looked better than they had in days. It was nice to see. Starting to walk again Spencer hoped with her whole heart that the two could work it out and become a couple that the other girls would be jealous of.

Hanna and Emily were at their lockers when they saw Aria coming down the hallway looking completely put together, hair done, make up on, and a cute outfit that even made Hanna a little jealous. Walking to their friend, "You're here at school? Looking put together." Hanna said surprised.

"Do you have a filter?" Emily asked Hanna.

"Sorry, I'm just shocked. Plus look at this outfit." Hanna mock apologized and waved her hands up and down beside Aria.

Appreciating her friend's humor, "Thanks Hanna. And I decided I have done enough wallowing. I needed to get my act together and I did." Aria explained.

"So you're okay?" Emily asked concerned. "No more break downs?"

"I shouldn't have any more break downs at school." Aria told her worried friend. She was about to explain about Jason when Spencer walked up.

"She talked to Jason last night." Spencer interrupted proudly meeting Aria's gaze. The two friends seemed to have gotten over their tiff.

"You did?" Hanna and Emily exclaimed in unison, making people in the hallway stop and look at them.

Laughing at the people that stopped to look, "Yes we talked. I woke up last night and my brain wouldn't stop telling there is no time like the present so I went to talk to him." Aria explained the whole conversation they had had.

"Are you sure after Ezra you want to make another commitment?" Emily asked.

None of the girls saw Jason or knew he was listening to their conversation but Emily's question had him curious. "I think Jason and I need to go back to being friends first. I do want a relationship with him but I also need him to trust me not to hurt him again. And I know that will take time, but I'm willing to put it in because I do _care_ about him." Aria answered her friend.

It wasn't just Jason that noticed how Aria had struggled to describe what she felt for him which left a pang in his heart until Hanna opened her mouth. She never did have a filter he thought to himself.

"Were you going to say love him?" Hanna asked.

Spencer and Emily both smacked her arms and glared at her. "It's okay guys, I really do think I love Jason. I think I have been since the summer before Ali disappeared. I'm nervous to say it out loud because of everything that has happened." Aria said while shutting her locker.

"I think that's smart and you're not lying when you say you care about him." Spencer said linking her arm with Aria's.

"Spencer's right. You need to wait till you are comfortable saying it to him and then you can come tell us." Emily said standing on Aria's other side.

Jason walked quickly down the hall so the girls wouldn't know he had been ease dropping and the smile on his face wasn't going anywhere. Aria loved him. She had been in love with him for almost as he had been with her. He understood her wanting to be cautious and he appreciated the fact that she wanted to gain his trust again, it actually made him love her more because she knew it wasn't going to be easy for them. Opening his office door Jason knew that the climb upward for him and Aria would take time but they would be doing it together.

* * *

The lunch bell rung, Aria was standing by her locker putting her stuff away when the girls stopped by on their way to the cafeteria. "Ready to go?" Hanna asked.

"You go ahead. I'll meet you guys in there." Aria replied closing her locker.

"Aria…" Emily and Spencer said.

"I'm okay. I want to go talk to Jason and this is the only chance I have." Aria explained.

Her three friends stood in front of her looking in her eyes, "She's looks okay, not like a break down is coming." Hanna spoke, "I say we let her go and meet us when she is done."

"Okay" the other two agreed.

Aria headed towards Jason's office, seeing that the door was closed she leaned against the wall and waited. After a few minutes the door opened and an unhappy looking guy stepped out, Aria didn't recognize him. He just stared at her and then turned to walk out the door of the school. Jason was about to shut the door to his office when he saw Aria standing, "Aria, is everything okay?" He asked startling her.

"Huh. Oh yeah, I just wanted to talk to you." She said straightening up.

"Well come on in." Jason said holding the door.

Aria stepped inside. "What did you want to talk about?" Jason asked closing the door behind in as he came in.

"I wanted to tell you what I'm doing after school."

"Okay."

"I'm going to talk to Ezra and break up with him. There is no need to stay with someone who doesn't make me happy. And I know that you and I have a long road ahead of us, but I really want to try and make it work."

"I do to Aria. But I kind of already knew that." Jason admitted.

"You knew I was going to break up with Ezra?" Aria asked confused.

"No, well I hoped you were going to after we talked last night. But I meant that I knew you wanted to try and make us work. I heard you talking to the girls this morning." Jason explained

"Jason DiLaurentis were you ease dropping on our conversation?" Aria teased moving closer to him.

"I'm not ashamed to admit that yes I was. And I'm glad I did. Hearing that you love me but also want to gain my trust back made me love you even more Aria. You have no idea how hearing that made me feel. When you hesitated on saying how you felt about me I felt this pang of hurt and then Hanna opened her mouth." Jason said stepping towards her, "She still doesn't have a filter does she?"

Laughing and standing on her tippy toes to put her arms around his neck, "No, she never has though which is part of the reason we love her." Aria said tightening her arms, "I do love you Jason and I meant when I said I want to be friends first and that I want you trust me again."

Putting his arms around her waist, "Well I think we are on our way to being friends, but we also never stopped." Jason told her squeezing her small waist.

"I've missed you Jason. I really have." Aria said as she laid her head on his chest.

"I've missed you too. I'm glad that you're back in my life." Jason said putting his chin against her head.

The two of them stood holding each other for a few seconds and then Aria remembered it was her lunch time when her stomach grumbled. "Hungry?" Jason asked pulling away.

"Yeah. I need to go eat, but I'll talk to you later." Aria said turning towards the door. She put her hand on the nob and then turned around and kissed Jason the cheek. "Thank you for being so understanding. I know this hasn't been easy on you especially after everything with Ali." She told him before leaving.

Jason touched his cheek where Aria had kissed him and smiled. Never in his life had he had someone care about him the way Aria always had. He remembered as the pink haired girl that his sister tried to control, the girl who became his friend when he first came back to Rosewood and now the girl who had his heart completely. This time though he knew he could trust her with it.

Aria made it to the lunch room with only a few minutes to eat. She couldn't believe her and Jason had talked that long it felt like only a few minutes. Finding her friends she realized that was how time was when she was with Jason it flew by but she never missed it. Sitting down the questions started, "So what did you talk about?" Hanna asked opening Aria's bag of Lay's.

"You look flushed is everything okay?" Emily asked looking worried as always.

Spencer stayed quiet and let Aria begin to explain, "We talked about us and yes Emily everything is fine. I'm flushed because I kissed Jason and had to run here from his office."

"You kissed Jason?!" Spencer asked sounding excited.

"This time I didn't do it." Hanna laughed pointing at Spencer.

"It was only on the cheek and it was to thank him. He has been beyond understanding of this whole thing and he shouldn't have had to be." Aria explained.

Spencer was satisfied with friends answer. Hanna wanted to know if his cheeks were as soft as they looked and Emily looked slightly uncomfortable. Before Aria could say anything more the lunch bell rang and the girls separated and headed to their classes.

After the final bell rang Aria went by her Mom's room and waited for her to be ready to head home. Walking out of the school, "Hey Mom would it be okay if I borrowed the car for an hour or so?"

"Sure Aria. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go see Ezra. I need to break up with him and make him understand why I'm doing it."

"Are you sure you can handle that right now?"

"No, but I need to do it anyways. I have to it for me. I should have done it a long time ago but I was so scared, but now I have a reason to do it."

"Jason."

"Yes Jason. But not because I want to jump right back into a relationship, but because I want to work things out with him and give us a better shot."

Ella was proud of her daughter, she was making complete sense when came to Ezra and Jason.

* * *

Once they got home Ella handed the keys over to Aria and watched her drive towards Hollis. She just hoped that Aria would be able to get through the break up without breaking down. Aria arrived at Hollis only to find out that Ezra had cancelled his office hours. Leaving the campus she headed to his apartment. Walking up the stairs Aria took calming breaths and told herself that she wasn't going to break down, crying was okay but she would not blubber and become inconsolable. When she got the door she knocked and waited hearing noise from inside.

Maggie was the one to open the door, "Oh Hi Maggie. Is Ezra here? I need to speak to him." Aria explained her unexpected visit.

"He's with Malcolm. Come on in and I'll go get him." Maggie said opening the door and allowing Aria to come inside.

Ezra came out of the bathroom holding Malcolm, "Aria what are you doing here? I thought we were meeting up tomorrow." Ezra said sitting Malcolm down on the couch and coming over.

"What I need to talk to you about can't wait until tomorrow Ezra. Can we go for a walk or something?" Aria asked, not wanting Malcolm or Maggie to hear their conversation.

Turning around, "Maggie will you be okay with watching Malcolm for a few minutes?" Ezra asked reaching for his jacket.

"Everything will be fine Ezra. Go and talk, it sounds important." Maggie said smiling at Aria.

Leaving Maggie and Malcolm in his apartment, Ezra and Aria headed towards the park by his apartment building. Aria was nervous and kept wringing her hands. "Aria is everything okay? You seem very nervous and uncomfortable." Ezra asked stopping to sit on a bench.

"Ezra, I don't want to hurt you but I can't do this anymore. You have Malcolm to worry about and Jason came back into town and…" Aria started but stopped when she felt the tears coming.

"You can't stop thinking about him and how things ended between you two." Ezra finished for her looking at his hands, "I understand Aria, I really do."

"I'm not going to say something clique like we should be friends but I do hope that everything works out for you with Maggie and Malcolm." Aria said as tears started to come out of her eyes.

Ezra looked at her with tears in his eyes, "Just tell me one thing Aria, do you love Jason DiLaurentis?" his voice shook as he asked.

Letting the tears fall, "I do. I think I have since I was thirteen." Aria said in an uneven tone, "But Ezra that doesn't mean that the feelings I had for you weren't real. They were. I thought you were my prince charming…"

"But then Jason came back into town. I'm not stupid Aria. I knew the answer to that question before I asked it I just needed to hear you admit it." Ezra said taking her hands in his. "Do whatever you need to do to make things work out with Jason and I will respect your decision."

"I'm so sorry Ezra." Aria said looking him the eyes and seeing all the hurt.

"It's okay Aria. This was a learning experience for you and me. You learned that you can't ignore how you feel about someone by dating someone else. And I learned that I shouldn't get involved with my students personally." Ezra said trying to lighten the mood. "I will miss seeing you around and so will Malcolm but I know that this is for the best." He finished by standing up.

Aria stood up too and hugged Ezra. It was the last hug they would ever share she knew. She hoped that things would work out between Ezra and Maggie and that he would get that teaching job in Pittsburgh. Their hug broke and Aria watched Ezra go back to his apartment and him not look back at her.

Jason had stopped when saw Aria and the teacher coming out of an apartment complex, he didn't know what to make of it. Spencer had told him that the guy hid Aria away like a mistress but there they were in front of him. He watched them sit down on a bench and talk. By the time their conversation was over they both were crying. It was that that made Jason realize that they were breaking up. Honestly he felt for the guy, he knew what it was like to have your heart broken by Aria. They had hugged and the teacher had gone back inside the building without looking back at Aria who had watched him. Looking at her face Jason could see she was sad but not overly upset. Finally getting in his car, Jason headed back home knowing that now he and Aria could be together in the future because she was available.

Aria had noticed Jason's car and him watching her and Ezra but she didn't feel funny about it. She had made sure when she watched Ezra walk back to his building that she positioned herself so that Jason could see her face. Her heart didn't hurt as much as she thought it would and that made her happy. She walked to her car and drove home, finally looking forward to the Talent Showcase tomorrow night.


	4. Talent Showcase

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars, these characters or the song lyrics I used. Not written for money, only enjoyment.**

Here is the Talent Showcase. I hope everyone likes. The little squiggles under the song lyrics are just to keep the lyrics separate from the story.

_Please don't be afraid to review. I appreciate them all even criticism. _

* * *

It was the morning of the Talent Showcase. Hanna had called all the girls to her house for a sleepover. As if an imaginary alarm clock had gone off all of the girls woke up at the same time, which was hard to do since Hanna hated being up early. This day seemed different though, the girls all showered and got ready. Ashley Marin was in the kitchen making coffee when the girls came down, "Good morning girls." She said handing out the cups of coffee. "You all look ready to face the day."

"We are." Emily said looking at her friends, "I think we all needed that girls night last night."

"It was definitely needed." Spencer said taking a cup.

"I know I needed it. I love my Mom and all but I was getting tired of her asking if I was okay with everything." Aria said joining Spencer at the table with cup of coffee.

"Speaking of being okay with everything, have you talked to Jason since school yesterday?" Hanna asked grabbing the sugar for her coffee.

"Who do you think I was texting all last night?" Aria replied with a wink.

Smacking her friends arm, "I'm fine with you and Jason seeing each but I don't want to hear about before I've had breakfast." Spencer said.

"Okay, Spencer." Aria said half serious, "So I can come to you and tell you how good of a kisser he is after you've had food?" she asked taking a sip of coffee and laughing at Spencer's disgusted face.

"Forget going to Spencer with that info. I want the dirty details when they start coming." Hanna said sitting down beside Emily.

"Hanna!" the other three women screamed.

"What?" Hanna asked as innocently as she could, considering she was serious, "Aria knows I'm kidding. Right?"

"Totally" Aria answered laughing and rolling her eyes. "Emily you're awfully quiet this morning." She said noticing Emily hadn't really joined the conversation.

"Yeah Em, what's wrong?" Hanna said shaking her friend.

"Em?" Spencer said looking concerned.

"I'm okay you guys. It's just do you guys realize that is probably the last thing before formal that we will all get to do together and we aren't even singing one song together tonight." Emily stated looking sad.

"I never thought about." Spencer said honestly.

"I didn't either." Hanna agreed.

"I've been too wrapped up in my own life to notice anything." Aria stated. "Hey why don't we head over to the outdoor theatre and ask if they'll add a spot for us to sing together?"

"That sounds like a great idea." Ashley Marin stated as she set down food for the girls to eat. "You all could be the unplanned finale. It would make a great ending to the show. But what would you all sing?"

The girls all looked at each other. None of them knew. "What about _Graduation_ by Vitamin C?" Spencer suggested.

"It's not graduation yet but the song does sound perfect for us." Emily agreed.

"I'm cool with. Plus we can learn it all this afternoon." Aria agreed.

"Cool cause I want some more time with my song too." Hanna said.

After the girls finished their breakfast they headed towards Rosewood high ready to plead for the chance to sing together. It turns out that organizers were more than willing to let them sing together, partially because Jessica DiLaurentis was coming back to town for the show. Looking at each other the girls didn't know how to take that news, the last time Mrs. DiLaurentis had been in town was for the fashion show and that had ended terribly for her. Spencer called a thank you back to the organizers as the girls went in search of an empty classroom to practice their songs. They found an empty music room with the computer on. Hanna knew of a site that did karaoke so they pulled it up and found _Graduation_. It took them several tries to get it all down but after agreeing that Aria needed to take the lead it went smoothly. The next several hours flew by as the girls spent the afternoon together and singing their songs in front of each other, getting use to how they sounded.

Jason woke up a smile on his face and text from Aria saying she would see him that night and a missed call from his Mom. Almost falling out his king size bed Jason checked his voicemail. Regaining the composure he had just lost he took several deep breaths and prepared to deal with his mother. This was not how this day was supposed to go but as the voicemail said his Mom would be in Rosewood around 5 p.m. and staying until sometime on Sunday. Taking a shower helped Jason feel better and more ready to face the day ahead. Grabbing his car keys he headed into town.

Walking into The Brew he saw Toby and Caleb looking miserable, getting his coffee he headed over towards them "Why the long faces guys?" he asked sitting down.

"You're looking forward to your public humiliation?" Caleb asked sarcastically.

"I'm not thinking of it like that." Jason responded.

"Pass along the information to make it not look like that." Toby complained.

"Come on guys. You're doing it for your girlfriends right?"

"Yeah" Both guys answered.

"Think of the ways they will have to thank you for standing up there and singing in front of most of Rosewood." Jason said with a smirk.

"Is that why you're doing it? To get Aria?" Toby asked.

"No, I already have Aria. I originally signed up to make a statement to her but now I just want to do it." Jason said with a smile on his face.

Toby and Caleb couldn't fane the same excitement that Jason had for doing the show. They were both dreading it but then again they had been forced, Jason hadn't.

The three guys finished their coffee and headed towards the high school. The girls had texted and said that they were there practicing and that the guys could probably use practice themselves. Knowing they were getting to see their girlfriends was making this day better for the guys.

The day seemed to fly by. Before the seven inside school knew it was two hours before the show. They all left so they could go change and be back in time for them all to go on. Ella, Mike and Zack all pulled up at the school ready for the show. Hanna's parents arrived at the same time. The two families headed toward the outdoor seating and saved seats for the Hastings and Fields. Soon the other two families arrived and sat down. The gossip began as the women got together, they talked about their girls, the other Moms asked how Aria was doing, but then they all got quiet. Veronica Hastings had noticed Jessica DiLaurentis coming in, "Did anyone know she was coming?" she asked. No the other Mom's responded. They were all quite shocked considering her last visit had ended incredibly badly.

The four families looked around and noticed that it was full house and a lot standing for this year's show as Mona stepped up on stage. "Hi everyone, I'm Mona Vanderwaal and I'll be your hostess for the night. I hope you are ready to have your socks rocked with some amazing talent. Different from year's past this show is made up of mostly seniors and people from the community. But enough of me talking. I'd like to introduce our first act, Mr. Caleb Rivers singing _Firecracker _by Josh Turner."

Caleb stepped up on stage and the music started to play:

_When I look in her eyes_  
_It ain't no surprise_  
_Sparks start a flyin' like the 4th of July_  
_She gets me so hot, my heart starts a popin'_  
_When we get to kissin' there ain't no stoppin'_  
_When it comes to love, she ain't no slacker_  
_My little darlin' is a Firecracker_

_When I light the fuse, I gotta get back quick_  
_You gotta be careful with a dynamite stick_  
_Son of a gun, she's fun to handle_  
_And she packs a punch like a roman candle_

_She's a pack of black cats in a red paper wrapper_  
_My little darlin' is a Firecracker_

_[chorus]_  
_We might not oughta take a roll in the hay_  
_Cause we'd burn the barn down a one of these days_  
_We're a match made in Heaven and it ain't no joke_  
_But I'd sure hate to see it go up in smoke_  
_We got a good thing going and if feels so right_  
_She's a Firecracker_  
_She's the light of my life_

_She goes off with a great big bang_  
_Boys I tell ya it's a beautiful thing_  
_She takes off you better hang on tight_  
_She's a blonde bottle rocket in the middle of the night_  
_When she makes love she's a heart attacker_  
_My little darlin' is a Firecracker_

_[chorus]_  
_Yeah, we got a good thing going and it feels so right_  
_She's a Firecarcker_  
_She's the light of my life_

_We gotta good thing goin' and it feels so right_  
_She's a Firecracker_  
_She's the light of my life_

_She's a Firecracker _  
_She's the light of my life_

_Firecracker, Firecracker, Firecracker,Firecracker,_  
_Bang, Firecracker, Firecracker_

Watching her boyfriend sing had Hanna all a twitter, literally she wouldn't get off twitter. Half way through the song Spencer took her phone from her and told her would get it back after he was done. The girls were majorly impressed with Caleb's smooth tenor voice and his easy going demeanor on stage.

Caleb had to admit he was enjoying being on stage more than he thought he would. The crowd was in on the song before he had begun singing. It didn't take him long to find Hanna standing towards the back with her friends and when he did his eyes never left hers.

The girls let Hanna and Caleb have their time in their own little world, but that was broken when the song ended and Caleb got a standing ovation. Lots of whistles, shouting and clapping was going on when Caleb got off the stage and headed back to his girlfriend.

Passing Jason on the way out, "Good luck out there. The crowd is eating this up." Caleb said clapping his friend on the shoulder.

"Thanks." Jason replied for the first time feeling nervous.

"Don't worry. You'll be able to find Aria."

Mona stepped back up on stage, "Wow okay then. Sorry ladies I have to report Caleb is off the market. But what a singer. Our next singer is someone who graduated from Rosewood a few years and was known for being a heartthrob then and still is today. Welcome Jason DiLaurentis to the stage everyone." Jason walked up on stage and waved to the crowd who was mostly female, but he found the eyes he was looking for and calmed down. "He will be singing _Til My Last Day_ by Justin Moore." Mona finished and left him on the stage.

As the music started one of the stage hands brought out a stool and Jason sat down and started to sing to the only person who mattered, Aria:

_People say I'm just a rough boy_  
_I ain't no good for you girl_  
_It's a dead end street, tryin' to love me_  
_Yeah, I'll wreck your world_  
_I can see why they're all talkin'_  
_Lookin' back at my past_  
_I've got a bad name, but a man can change _  
_I'm livin' proof of that_

_(Chorus)_  
_Til my last day_  
_Til my last breath_  
_Of everyone that can, I can love you the best_  
_Til my last day, I'll be lovin' you_  
_All the way up, til they lay me down_  
_Six feet under, the cold hard ground_  
_Til my last day, I'll be lovin' you_

_Baby I might meet all my friends _  
_Shoot the bull, have a beer or two_  
_But you know I'll be the first one to leave_  
_In a hurry to get to you_  
_Somewhere deep inside your angel eyes_  
_I found a place to rest, don't ever doubt that _  
_I'll be around, and baby don't you ever forget_

_Til my last day_  
_Til my last breath_  
_Of everyone that can, I can love you the best_  
_Til my last day, I'll be lovin' you_  
_All the way up, til they lay me down_  
_Six feet under, the cold hard ground_  
_Til my last day, I'll be lovin' you_  
_Darlin' yes I Will_

_Til my last day_  
_Til my last breath_  
_Of everyone that can, I can love you the best_  
_Til my last day, I'll be lovin' you_  
_All the way up, til they lay me down_  
_Six feet under, the cold hard ground_  
_Til my last day, I'll be lovin' you_  
_Oh babe, til my last day_

Aria was completely hypnotized by Jason's baritone voice. He sounded amazing and his eyes never left hers. She knew she was blushing but she couldn't look away. Everything they had been going through disappeared and Aria felt as if they could walk through fire and come out unharmed.

Ezra, Maggie and Malcolm had gotten to the theater just in time to grab some seats. He couldn't help but fidget while Jason was up there singing. Looking around when Jason had made eye contact with someone he found Aria staring right back at Jason. Ezra hated to admit it but she looked happy and completely in love with the guy. Maggie nudged his arm and asked if he was okay. He looked at her and nodded yes, they had decided to give them a second chance and this would be last thing they would do in Rosewood. Ezra had gotten the job in Pittsburgh and they were moving before the end of the semester. Both were looking forward to a fresh start and a new chance at a family.

As the song drew to a close Jason never looked away from Aria. Even with him being on stage and her being in the crowd he could see the love in her eyes and he was glad he had decided to sing in the show. The crowd erupted like they had for Caleb when Jason was done. Standing up from the stool Jason took a bow and walked off the stage getting a hug from Mona in the process.

Aria couldn't wait she ran back stage and almost tackled Jason with her hug. Her friends had followed her and smiled when they saw Jason pick her up and spin around, but they could hear Mona on stage, "Sorry ladies I do believe that Jason's heart is spoken for." They all looked at each and laughed and moved out past the crowd so they could talk and not disturb anyone. None of them knew the next girl singing. "I think she is a sophomore." Hanna said.

"What is she singing?" Emily asked.

Spencer opened her program, _I Won't Say I'm in Love_ from Hercules." She said closing the program and looking at Aria.

The girls heard the song start and the sophomore girl they didn't know start to sing:

_If there's a prize for rotten judgement_  
_I guess I've already won that_  
_No man is worth the aggravation_  
_That's ancient history, been there, done that!_

_[Muses:] Who'd'ya think you're kiddin'_  
_He's the Earth and heaven to you_  
_Try to keep it hidden_  
_Honey, we can see right through you_  
_Girl, ya can't conceal it_  
_We know how ya feel and_  
_Who you're thinking of_  
_[Meg:]_  
_No chance, no way_  
_I won't say it, no, no_

_[Muses:]_  
_You swoon, you sigh_  
_why deny it, uh-oh_  
_[Meg:]_  
_It's too cliche_  
_I won't say I'm in love_

_I thought my heart had learned its lesson_  
_It feels so good when you start out_  
_My head is screaming get a grip, girl_  
_Unless you're dying to cry your heart out_  
_Oh_

_[Muses:]_  
_You keep on denying_  
_Who you are and how you're feeling_  
_Baby, we're not buying_  
_Hon, we saw ya hit the ceiling_  
_Face it like a grown-up_  
_When ya gonna own up_  
_That ya got, got, got it bad_  
_[Meg:]_  
_Whoa: No chance, now way_  
_I won't say it, no, no_  
_[Muses:]_  
_Give up, give in_  
_Check the grin you're in love_  
_[Meg:]_  
_This scene won't play,_  
_I won't say I'm in love_  
_[Muses:]_  
_You're doin flips read our lips_  
_You're in love_

_[Meg:]_  
_You're way off base_  
_I won't say it_  
_Get off my case_  
_I won't say it_  
_[Muses:]_  
_Girl, don't be proud_  
_It's O.K. you're in love_  
_[Meg:]_  
_Oh_  
_At least out loud,_  
_I won't say I'm in love_

They all had to admit it was pretty funny to have that song being sung when Aria was afraid to say she loved Jason. The guys joined the girls and just looked confused while the girls laughed.

"Do you have any idea what is so funny?" Caleb asked Jason and Toby.

"Not a clue." They both replied just as curious.

"Okay what is so funny?" Jason finally asked wanting to be in on the joke.

Spencer looked at him and tried to stop laughing, "The song is being sung by a woman who won't admit she loves Hercules. Sound like someone you know." She said starting to laugh again.

It took a couple minutes but then the guys all understood, it was funny because the same could be said for Aria and Jason.

They heard the song end and Hanna ran back stage. Mona stepped back up on stage, "Wow just wow. I can only imagine how some people in the audience must be feeling right now." She said looking at Jason and Aria. "Since we have a jam packed show I have to keep moving so help me in welcoming Hanna Marin to the stage to sing _She's in Love With a Boy_ by Trisha Yearwood."

Hanna stepped up on stage in her pale green sundress and brown cowboy boots looking amazing and started to sway as the music started:

_Katie's sitting on the old front porch_  
_Watching the chickens peck the ground_  
_There ain't a whole lot going on tonight_  
_In this one horse town._  
_Over yonder, coming up the road_  
_In a beat-up Chevy truck_  
_Her boyfriend Tommy, he's laying on the horn_  
_Splashing through the mud and the muck_

_Her daddy says, "he ain't worth a lick_  
_When it came to brains, he got the short end of the stick"_  
_But Katie's young and man she just don't care_  
_She'd follow Tommy anywhere_

_She's in love with the boy_  
_She's in love with the boy_  
_She's in love with the boy_  
_And even if they have to run away_  
_She's gonna marry that boy someday_

_Katie and Tommy at the drive-in movie_  
_Parked in the very last row_  
_They're too busy holding on to one another_  
_To even care about the show_  
_But later on outside the Tastee Freeze,_  
_Tommy slips something on her hand _  
_He says, "my high school ring will have to do_  
_Till I can buy a wedding band"_

_Her daddy says, "he ain't worth a lick_  
_When it came to brains, he got the short end of the stick"_  
_But Katie's young and man she just don't care_  
_She'd follow Tommy anywhere_  
_She's in love with the boy_  
_She's in love with the boy_  
_She's in love with the boy_  
_And even if they have to run away_  
_She's gonna marry that boy someday_

_Her daddy's waiting up till half past twelve_  
_When they come sneaking up the walk_  
_He says, "young lady get on up to your room_  
_While me and junior have a talk"_  
_But Mama breaks in and says, "don't lose your temper_  
_It wasn't very long ago_  
_When you yourself was just a hay-seed plowboy_  
_Who didn't have a row to hoe"_

_"My daddy said you wasn't worth a lick_  
_When it came to brains, you had the short end of the stick_  
_But he was wrong and honey you are too_  
_Katie looks at Tommy like I still look at you"_

_She's in love with the boy_  
_She's in love with the boy_  
_She's in love with the boy_  
_What's meant to be will always find a way_  
_She's in love with the boy_  
_She's in love with the boy_  
_She's in love with the boy_

_What's meant to be will always find a way_  
_She's gonna marry that boy someday._  
_She's in love with the boy..._

Aria felt Jason put his arms around and she snuggled into him. Toby and Spencer were in the same state but Spencer was facing Toby. Hanna looked from her friends to Caleb and let him know how she was truly feeling. The smile on Caleb's face as he watched his girlfriend sing was going from ear to ear.

Emily couldn't help but feel happy for her friends. They were all in love she just hoped that she could find her special someone in college. Caleb noticed that Emily was standing alone with her arms around herself so he went over and offered his hand. Giving him a confused look Emily took his hand and Caleb spun her around in a slow circle that put a smile on Emily's face. She realized then that just because she was single didn't mean she was an outsider in the group.

When Hanna had first started singing Ezra noticed Jason put his arms around Aria. He was surprised to find that it didn't hurt to see. They both had known for some time that the break up was coming, it was almost a relief when it had. Looking at Maggie he put his arm around the back of her chair and kissed her temple.

Hanna heard her six friends loud and clear when the song ended. She had also noticed Aria ducking out since she was the next to sing. The four families sitting in the middle all made some noise for Hanna but nothing could drown out her friends. Ashley Marin was so proud of her daughter and she knew the song was for Caleb but also for Aria and Jason.

Back up on stage, "Okay wow I think my ear drums are busted because of that applause. Got to say it sorry guys Hanna is spoken for so don't try anything." She said laughing. "Up next we have Aria Montgomery singing _Always Something There to Remind Me_ by Naked Eyes, so make some noise for her."

Aria walked out on the stage in off the shoulder blue shirt, black leggings and black wedges. She headed towards the front of stage and sat down crossing her legs at the ankles and the music started: (the girl is changed to boy because Aria is singing.)

_I walk along the city streets you used to walk along with me,_  
_and every step I take reminds me of just how we used to be._  
_Well, how can I forget you, boy?_  
_When there is always something there to remind me._  
_always something there to remind me._  
_As shadows fall, I pass a small cafe where we would dance at night._  
_And I can't help recalling how it how it felt to kiss and hold you tight_  
_Well, how can I forget you, boy?_  
_When there is always something there to remind me._  
_always something there to remind me._  
_I was born to love her, and I'll never be free._  
_You'll always be a part of me._

_If you should find you miss the sweet and tender love we used to share._  
_Just go back to the places where we used to go, and I'll be there_  
_Well, how can I forget you, boy?_  
_When there is always something there to remind me._  
_always something there to remind me._  
_I was born to love her, and I'll never be free_  
_You'll always be a part of me._  
_'cause there is always something there to remind me._  
_always something there to remind me._  
_always something there to remind me._

_I walk along the city streets you used to walk along with me,_  
_and every step I take reminds me of just how we used to be._  
_Well, how can I forget you, boy?_  
_When there is always something there to remind me._  
_always something there to remind me._  
_As shadows fall, I pass a small cafe where we would dance at night._  
_And I can't help recalling how it how it felt to kiss and hold you tight_  
_Well, how can I forget you, boy?_  
_When there is always something there to remind me._  
_always something there to remind me._  
_I was born to love her, and I'll never be free._  
_You'll always be a part of me._

_If you should find you miss the sweet and tender love we used to share._  
_Just go back to the places where we used to go, and I'll be there_  
_Well, how can I forget you, boy?_  
_When there is always something there to remind me._  
_always something there to remind me._  
_I was born to love her, and I'll never be free_  
_You'll always be a part of me._  
_'cause there is always something there to remind me._  
_always something there to remind me._  
_always something there to remind me._

The whole crowd stayed quiet but Aria could see them swaying in their seats, enjoying the song. Soon several cell phones were up in the air joining in on the sway. Aria didn't care about the rest of the crowd she only cared about the green eyes she was staring straight into.

Jessica DiLaurentis sat near the back and couldn't help but notice how her oldest child had sung a song to the girl he had been in love since he was at this school and how she was now returning the favor. All she could think about if she had missed something were they dating. She had been out of Jason's life since Ali had disappeared.

Ella and Zack could see from the middle of the audience that Aria's eyes never left where they were looking and both knew it was Jason. The two were starting to make their way up the hill of problems they had created for themselves.

Ezra didn't take his eyes off Malcolm while Aria was singing. He was so glad that he had found out about him even though he had missed time in his life he was going to try and make up for it by being there from that point on. Maggie couldn't help but watch Ezra watch Malcolm the two most important men in her life where together at last.

The song was coming to an end and Aria stood up on the stage. Like every performer before her she got a standing ovation. But she had lost sight of Jason, smiling and waving she headed back stage. There she found Jason leaning against the tree with his arms open. Without a second thought she went into them. Their friends didn't interrupt their moment but Mona did with her big mouth, "Well like the one's before Aria's heart seems to be taken by a Rosewood heart throb. Sorry ladies but I am talking about Jason DiLaurentis." Breaking their hug Jason, Aria and their friends went back behind the crowd.

They could hear Mona introduce Sean, Hanna's ex, and what he would be singing _Can't Fight This Feeling_ by REO Speedwagon:

_I can't fight this feeling any longer. _  
_And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow. _  
_What started out as friendship, _  
_Has grown stronger. _  
_I only wish I had the strength to let it show. _

_I tell myself that I can't hold out forever. _  
_I said there is no reason for my fear. _  
_Cause I feel so secure when we're together. _  
_You give my life direction, _  
_You make everything so clear. _

_And even as I wander, _  
_I'm keeping you in sight. _  
_You're a candle in the window, _  
_On a cold, dark winter's night. _  
_And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might. _

_And I can't fight this feeling anymore. _  
_I've forgotten what I started fighting for. _  
_It's time to bring this ship into the shore, _  
_And throw away the oars, forever. _

_Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore. _  
_I've forgotten what I started fighting for. _  
_And if I have to crawl upon the floor, _  
_Come crushing through your door, _  
_Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore. _

_My life has been such a whirlwind since I saw you. _  
_I've been running round in circles in my mind. _  
_And it always seems that I'm following you, girl, _  
_Cause you take me to the places, _  
_That alone I'd never find. _

_And even as I wander, _  
_I'm keeping you in sight. _  
_You're a candle in the wind, _  
_On a cold, dark winter's night. _  
_And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might. _

_And I can't fight this feeling anymore. _  
_I've forgotten what I started fighting for. _  
_It's time to bring this ship into the shore, _  
_And throw away the oars, forever. _

_Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore. _  
_I've forgotten what I started fighting for. _  
_And if I have to crawl upon the floor, _  
_Come crushing through your door, _  
_Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore._

Aria and Jason were the first couple to start to sway and the rest of the world disappeared. All she could feel was his hands on her waist and slowly rubbing circles. Jason was only concentrating on Aria's head on his chest and her hand in his hair. God I love her was the only thought in his head. I'm glad I finally listened to my heart was what Aria was thinking when she gently pulled Jason's face down to hers. "I love you", she whispered right before their lips met.

Hanna and Caleb, Spencer and Toby, and Emily all wanted to yell when Jason and Aria kissed but they couldn't because of the show so their phones came out. Ella, Zack and Mike stepped behind the crowd as Jason and Aria kissed and stopped. Mike's face said yuck but his eyes were pure happiness and all for his sister. Ella and Zack just looked at each other like love struck teens and cuddled.

Jason gently pulled away and looked into Aria's eyes, "I love you too, I always have". Slowly the two realized that they had an audience, turning Aria around in his arms he held her close. No one spoke, all of their faces said it, they were happy for the two. Aria stayed against Jason so for another few seconds before going over to her family. They gave her hugs and told her how great she was. Ella was on the verge of tears when she gave her daughter a hug, "I'm so proud of you. And I'm happy for you and Jason, just remember the best relationships start as friendships." Holding her tighter. Aria stood in her Mom's arms for several seconds letting her words sink, "Thank you Mom for everything. I wouldn't have been able to get through it without you." She said squeezing her Mom back.

Aria and her Mom pulled apart when the song ended and they heard Mona get back up on stage. They all noticed that Spencer had disappeared. Ella, Mike and Zack all headed back to their seats while the friends headed back into the crowded throng of people to hear Spencer sing.

Loving her job, Mona stood center stage and announced Spencer singing _If You Ask Me Too_ by Celine Dion, but she also added what everyone was thinking that it was an odd choice:

_Used to be that I believed in something_  
_Used to be that I believed in love_  
_Its been a long time since Ive had that feeling_  
_I could love someone_  
_I could trust someone_  
_I said I'd never let nobody near my heart again darlin_  
_I said I'd never let nobody in_

_But if you asked me to_  
_I just might change my mind_  
_And let you in my life forever_  
_If you asked me to_  
_I just might give my heart_  
_And stay here in your arms forever_  
_If you asked me to_  
_If you asked me to_

_Somehow ever since Ive been around you_  
_Cant go back to being on my own_  
_Cant help feeling darling since Ive found you_  
_That Ive found my home_  
_That Im finally home_  
_I said I'd never let nobody get too close to me darling_  
_I said I needed, needed to be free_

_(but if you asked me to...)_

_Asked me to, I will give my world to you baby_  
_I need you now_  
_Ask me to and I'll do anything for you baby, for you baby_

_If you asked me to_  
_Id let you in my life forever_  
_If you asked me to..._

The girls all gathered together and swayed amazed at how Spencer sounded. She sounded as if she had lived this song before, which the girls knew was kind of true. Until Toby, Spencer had had horrible taste in guys, mostly her sister, Melissa's, boyfriends and all around jerks. Listening to her sing they knew that that part of Spencer's life was over and Toby fully had her heart. Toby just watched his girlfriend. He was mystified by her. Jason stood there and watched his half-sister show her heart to most of Rosewood. She has balls he thought as he watched her.

All of the friends could agree that Spencer was the most courageous with her song choice, but then again none of them had expected anything less because she was Spencer. Being the best didn't stop at school work.

Spencer closed her eyes and sang the last bit of chorus and was almost blown off the stage by the applause she received when she was done singing. Veronica and Peter Hastings finally showed true support for their daughter by standing up and whistling for her when she was done. They couldn't have been more proud.

Spencer practically skipped off the stage while Mona went back up, "Well I guess an odd choice of song gets the loudest applause. Let's hear some more for Spencer and her courage. Now I'd like to introduce our first duet of the night Noel Kahn and Jenna Marshall singing _Gotta Go My Own Way_ from High School Musical. Make some noise for them."

The music started while Noel and Jenna entered from opposing wings making the song seem so much authentic: (Gabriella and Troy changed to Noel and Jenna)

_[Jenna]_  
_I gotta say what's on my mind_  
_Something about us_  
_Doesn't seem right these days_  
_Life keeps gettin in the way_  
_Whenever we try, somehow the plan_  
_Is always rearranged_  
_It's so hard to say_  
_But I've gotta do what's best for me_  
_You'll be ok... _  
_I've got to move on and be who I am_  
_I just don't belong here_  
_I hope you understand_  
_We might find our place in this_  
_World someday_  
_But at least for now_  
_I gotta go my own way_  
_Don't wanna leave it all behind_  
_But I get my hopes up_  
_And I watch them fall every time_  
_Another color turns to grey_  
_And it's just too hard to watch it all_  
_Slowly fade away_  
_I'm leaving today 'cause I_  
_Gotta do what's best for me_  
_You'll be ok... _  
_I've got to move on and be who I am_  
_I just don't belong here_  
_I hope you understand_  
_We might find our place in this_  
_World someday_  
_But at least for now_  
_I gotta go my own way_  
_[Noel]_  
_What about us? _  
_What about everything we've been through? _  
_[Jenna]_  
_What about trust? _  
_[Noel]_  
_You know I never wanted to hurt you_  
_[Jenna]_  
_what about me? _  
_[Noel]_  
_What am I supposed to do? _  
_[Jenna]_  
_I gotta leave but I'll miss you_  
_[Noel]_  
_I'll miss you_  
_[Jenna]_  
_So_  
_I've got to move on and be who I am_  
_[Noel]_  
_Why do you have to go? _  
_[Jenna]_  
_I just don't belong here_  
_I hope you understand_  
_[Noel]_  
_I'm trying to understand_  
_[Jenna]_  
_We might find our place in this_  
_World someday_  
_But at least for now_  
_[Noel]_  
_I want you to stay_  
_[Jenna]_  
_I gotta go my own way_  
_I've got to move on and be who I am_  
_[Noel]_  
_What about us? _  
_[Jenna]_  
_I just don't belong here_  
_I hope you understand_  
_[Noel]_  
_I'm trying to understand_  
_[Jenna]_  
_We might find our place in this_  
_World someday_  
_But at least for now_  
_I gotta go my own way_  
_I gotta go my own way_  
_I gotta go my own way_

As much as none of them liked Noel and Jenna they all had to admit that they did a good job with the song. Most of the senior class knew that the couple wasn't going to be together after graduation. It was kind of hard to hear them sing with such broken hearts when they were all so happy but then again they kind of deserved it, all the friends thought.

In the middle of the song Ezra got up and left so he could head backstage. He was the next one to sing and he was nervous. Heading back there early was the only way he knew he would be okay to perform. Once behind everyone he almost regretted his decision to go backstage early. Stopping on a dime when saw Jason holding Aria. They looked so happy. Picking up his pace he hoped that they wouldn't notice him but Aria did, "Good luck Ezra. You'll do great. The crowd loves every act." She said sincerely. Putting his hand, "I hope there are no hard feelings. Good luck." Jason said as the two men shook hands.

The rest of their friends stood in silence watching as Jason and Aria told Ezra good luck. They didn't know what to expect. For all they knew Ezra could have punched Jason, but that wouldn't have ended well considering Jason was taller and had more muscle than Ezra. The exchange was pleasant and not forced which was nice to see on both sides.

Jason had been nervous when he saw Fitz come behind the crowd but when Aria had told him good luck she had snuggled into his arms more which reassured him that she was where she wanted to be.

They all heard the song end and Mona get back on stage to take her place, "Wow. Could you hear that heart break? Great job you two. Wow we only have two more acts after this one before the end. Let me introduce a former Rosewood high teacher Mr. Ezra Fitz singing _Someone Else Calling You Baby_ by Luke Bryan." Mona said moving toward the wing but added before stepping off, "I'm sorry Ezra but you are no Luke Bryan."

Ezra took his place center stage and the music started:

_I saw a truck backin' out of your drive_  
_You were sitting in the passenger side_  
_Messin' with the radio, you had your sun glasses on._  
_I pulled over cause I couldn't believe_  
_Two weeks ago that was you and me_  
_Riding down these old back roads, singing our songs_  
_Now everybody round our town's been whisperin'_  
_A tear in your eye says I should have been listenin'_

_Baby is someone else calling you baby_  
_It's driving me crazy_  
_This bein in the dark_  
_Goodbye ain't never easy_  
_So break it to me hard_  
_If you're over my love girl_  
_Lay it on my heart_  
_Don't try to save me_  
_Is someone else calling you baby?_

_You wanted time and you wanted your space_  
_So I backed off, did whatever it takes_  
_Never really thought you were that ready for moving along_  
_Now I ain't leaving till I hear you say what's going on_  
_It'll be what it will be, its either him or me_  
_Give me the word and girl I'm gone_

_Baby is someone else calling you baby_  
_It's driving me crazy_  
_This bein in the dark_  
_Goodbye ain't never easy_  
_So break it to me hard_  
_If you're over my love girl_  
_Lay it on my heart_  
_Don't try to save me_  
_Is someone else calling you baby?_

_No Goodbye ain't never easy_  
_So break it to me hard_  
_If you're over my love girl_  
_Lay it on my heart_  
_Don't try to save me_  
_Is someone else calling you baby?_  
_No, don't try to save me_  
_Is someone else calling you baby?_  
_Is someone else calling you baby?_

Ezra had choose the song for Aria and he didn't regret the choice, but he also didn't miss the slightly hurt look on Maggie's face as he sang. He felt bad because he did care about her and Malcolm but when he had signed up he had been hearing about Aria's breakdown because DiLauarentis was back in town. He wanted Jason to feel guilty for taking his girl, but when he looked at them he knew Jason would feel no guilt.

Jason almost glared at Fitz. If he is trying to make me or Aria feel guilty for being together he has another thing coming, Jason thought with his shoulder tightening. Aria felt Jason tighten behind her and looked up at him. Her eyes told him that he had nothing to worry about.

Soon the song was over and Ezra was making his way off the stage. When he walked off he was greeted by Emily, "You did very well. The crowd was transfixed." She told him with a small smile. He could tell she was nervous, "You'll do great Emily. Try to imagine you're in a pool instead of on stage." He told his former student.

"I'll try, but I feel guilty about my song choice mostly. I picked it right after Jason had come home and Aria was having her hard time dealing." Emily explained looking at her feet.  
"I don't think anything will make them mad at you. You have a right to your opinions." Ezra said and headed back to his seat with a smile on his face. He had done it, he had sang in front a crowd that included Aria, her family and friend, but also his small family.

Mona was bouncing around being in the spotlight. Noticing that Mr. Fitz had left backstage she introduced Emily and her singing _I Knew You Were Trouble_ by Taylor Swift. "Emily I do hope you aren't trying to get revenge on an ex with this song." Mona added before stepping off the stage.

Emily could feel her heartbeat in her throat. Aria looked at her friend and gave her a thumbs up and a smile, which showed Emily that she wasn't mad. Looking up from the stool she had brought out with her she nodded and the music started:

_Once upon a time a few mistakes ago_  
_I was in your sights, you got me alone_  
_You found me, you found me, you found me_  
_I guess you didn't care, and I guess I liked that_  
_And when I fell hard you took a step back_  
_Without me, without me, without me_

_And he's long gone when he's next to me_  
_And I realize the blame is on me_

_'Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in_  
_So shame on me now_  
_Flew me to places I'd never been_  
_'Til you put me down, oh_  
_I knew you were trouble when you walked in_  
_So shame on me now_  
_Flew me to places I'd never been_  
_Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground_  
_Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble_  
_Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble_

_No apologies, he'll never see you cry_  
_Pretend he doesn't know that he's the reason why_  
_You're drowning, you're drowning, you're drowning_  
_Now I heard you moved on from whispers on the street_  
_A new notch in your belt is all I'll ever be_  
_And now I see, now I see, now I see_

_He was long gone when he met me_  
_And I realize the joke is on me, yeah!_

_I knew you were trouble when you walked in_  
_So shame on me now_  
_Flew me to places I'd never been_  
_'Til you put me down, oh_  
_I knew you were trouble when you walked in_  
_So shame on me now_  
_Flew me to places I'd never been_  
_Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground_  
_Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble_  
_Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble_

_And the saddest fear comes creeping in_  
_That you never loved me or her, or anyone, or anything, yeah_

_I knew you were trouble when you walked in_  
_So shame on me now_  
_Flew me to places I'd never been_  
_'Til you put me down, oh_  
_I knew you were trouble when you walked in (you were right there, you were right there)_  
_So shame on me now_  
_Flew me to places I'd never been_  
_Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground_  
_Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble_  
_Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble_

_I knew you were trouble when you walked in_  
_Trouble, trouble, trouble_  
_I knew you were trouble when you walked in_  
_Trouble, trouble, trouble_

After Arias' encouragement Emily was at ease on the stage and sang with her whole heart. As she sang she realized she hadn't picked this song because of Jason but because of Mr. Fitz. He had caused Aria so much trouble. She didn't dare look over there though because he was with his family and didn't deserve some second hand rage she was feeling.

Emily didn't have tell Ezra that she hadn't picked this song because of Jason DiLaurentis. It was all over her face that it was because of him, the choice had come from her subconscious. Squirming in his seat Ezra couldn't help but think about all the trouble he had caused Aria and her friends by keeping them a secret.

Her song finished and Emily couldn't have been more proud of herself. She had gotten through the song without looking over at Ezra and his family. Mona joined her on stage, "Wow Emily. I do have say green is not your color but red definitely is." She said making an obvious joke.

Emily handed her mic to Toby who was up next looking ready to be done, "You'll do great. Just remember you're doing this for Spencer."

Toby nodded and went out on stage. Mona was introducing him and the song he was going he was going to be singing _Anywhere With You_ by Jake Owen. "Now ladies and gentlemen please don't leave after Toby is done. We have a special closing to the show." Mona added and walked backstage.

Toby looked out into the audience and found Spencer and smiled as the music started:

_If your dream house_  
_Is a double-wide trailer sitting back in the holler_  
_On a country road_  
_Then baby that's where we'll go_  
_If you don't wanna settle down_  
_We can bounce around from town to town_  
_And that's fine with me_  
_If you wanna just ride the breeze_

_I'll go anywhere, _  
_West Virginia baby I don't care_  
_Mexico on wild hair_  
_Have you ever seen California_  
_Pick a spot on any old map_  
_I travel light and my bags are packed_  
_Just as long as I'm where you're at_  
_I'm gonna have a real good view_  
_I'll go anywhere, anywhere with you_  
_I'll bet there's a two lane_  
_Running right through the middle of a wide open desert to a ghost town_  
_If you wanna just hide out_  
_We could send a post card back_  
_From a mountain top out in Idaho_  
_Maybe get snowed in_  
_Anytime baby you say when_

_I'll go anywhere, _  
_West Virginia baby I don't care_  
_Mexico on wild hair_  
_Have you ever seen California_  
_Pick a spot on any old map_  
_I travel light and my bags are packed_  
_Just as long as I'm where you're at_  
_I'm gonna have a real good view_  
_I'll go anywhere, anywhere with you_

_Yeahhh I'll go anywhere_  
_West Virginia baby I don't care_  
_Mexico on wild hair_  
_Have you ever seen California_  
_Pick a spot on any old map_  
_I travel light and my bags are packed_  
_Just as long as I'm where you're at_  
_I'm gonna have a real good view_  
_I'll go anywhere_  
_Girl I'll swear_  
_Just say the word_  
_I'll take you there_  
_Aww anywhere, anywhere with you_

_Yeah I'll go anywhere with you_

Toby's voice was smooth and made Spencer swoon. She had never heard him sing before but she was going to be hearing a lot more of it now she thought. Aria, Hanna and Emily all watched Spencer. It was an amazing sight to see their best friend not having a care in the world other than watching her boyfriend sing to her in a crowd. Jason and Caleb just looked at each other awkwardly knowing that Toby had just won with his song. Nodding to each other they wrapped their arms around their girlfriends and pulled them close.

Right before Toby hit the last line Spencer, Hanna, Emily and Aria all ran to get backstage. They were the surprise ending and wanted to be ready when Mona announced them, plus they had to pick up two extra mics.

Toby finished his song just as strong as he started it and Mona joined him on stage. "Great job Toby. Ladies and gentlemen that concludes the regular scheduled show, but as I said before we have a special ending. I'd liked to have Jessica DiLaurentis join me on stage." The girls all looked at each other surprised. Jesscia got up on stage, "Allow me to introduce Aria Montgomery, Spencer Hastings, Emily Fields and Hanna Marin, they are going to sing _Graduation _by Vitamin C as a closing." She said walking off the stage handing her mic to Emily with a smile to all the girls.

"Ladies and gentlemen before we sing we like to thank you for coming out and supporting us in this year's Talent Showcase. You all have been a great crowd. My friends and I realized this morning that we were all singing individually but not together so we rushed here and asked if we could add this ending. The organizers were more than gracious and allowed us too." Aria spoke into her mic.

"But we also have another reason for wanting to sing this song as an ending. Three years ago the four of us lost one of our best friends, actually the girl who introduced us all to each other and this is our way of saying goodbye to her." Spencer said stepping forward.

"So this one is for you Alison, we all miss you and wish you were here." Hanna said as Emily nodded for the music to be started:

_And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives_  
_Where we're gonna be when we turn 25_  
_I keep thinking times will never change_  
_Keep on thinking things will always be the same_  
_But when we leave this year we won't be coming back_  
_No more hanging out cause we're on a different track_  
_And if you got something that you need to say_  
_You better say it right now cause you don't have another day_  
_Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down_  
_These memories are playing like a film without sound_  
_And I keep thinking of that night in June_  
_I didn't know much of love_  
_But it came too soon_  
_And there was me and you_  
_And then we got real blue_  
_Stay at home talking on the telephone_  
_And we would get so excited and we'd get so scared_  
_Laughing at ourselves thinking life's not fair_  
_And this is how it feels_

_[1]_  
_As we go on_  
_We remember_  
_All the times we_  
_Had together_  
_And as our lives change_  
_Come whatever_  
_We will still be_  
_Friends Forever_

_So if we get the big jobs_  
_And we make the big money_  
_When we look back now_  
_Will our jokes still be funny?_  
_Will we still remember everything we learned in school?_  
_Still be trying to break every single rule_  
_Will little brainy Bobby be the stockbroker man?_  
_Can Heather find a job that won't interfere with her tan?_  
_I keep, keep thinking that it's not goodbye_  
_Keep on thinking it's a time to fly_  
_And this is how it feels_

_[Repeat 1]_

_La, la, la, la:_  
_Yeah, yeah, yeah_  
_La, la, la, la:_  
_We will still be friends forever_

_Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?_  
_Can we survive it out there?_  
_Can we make it somehow?_  
_I guess I thought that this would never end_  
_And suddenly it's like we're women and men_  
_Will the past be a shadow that will follow us around?_  
_Will these memories fade when I leave this town_  
_I keep, keep thinking that it's not goodbye_  
_Keep on thinking it's a time to fly_

_[Repeat 1 (3x)_

Aria started off the song in a soft tone that had everyone on their feet, phones out, and eyes closed. Jessica DiLaurentis had left backstage and found Jason. Walking up beside her son she put a hand on his shoulder with tears coming out of her eyes. Jason put his arm around his Mom's shoulders, he was beyond surprised that the girls had put this together this morning. They sounded amazing and he was so thankful that they had dedicated it to Ali. She may have been a bitch, but she was their bitch and they loved her for it.

As the girls sang they moved to sit on the edge of the stage. Looking at each other they each finally let their emotions go. Aria was the first to start crying but never let it affect her singing, Emily was the next and had to stop singing for a couple lines, Hanna scooted closer to Emily and the two hugged and kept singing. Spencer scooted closer to Aria and they hugged and kept the song going.

Anyone who didn't know Allison would have been able to tell that she had been important to the four girls on the stage. The emotion in their voices was nothing compared to the emotion on their faces. They missed their friend.

By the end of the song Aria was the only one still singing but barely keeping it together. She had no idea how she was doing, but she suspected it had something to do with Jason holding his crying Mom and never taking his eyes off hers. They really did say it all, thank you doing this, it means more than you know, and I love you.

The song ended to a thunderous applause as people said their own goodbyes to Allison as the girls just had. Before going off stage the girls hugged each other silently promising to always be there for one another. Allison may have brought them together but her death wouldn't separate them. Mona made her closing statements and the crowd slowly started to file away to cars and restaurants.

The girls and their boyfriends all waited for their families. Jessica DiLaurentis stood with Jason when Aria came to him. Looking at all of the girls all she could say was thank you. The girls all gave her hugs and told her it was their way of saying goodbye. Not able to handle being in public anymore Mrs. DiLaurentis headed back to Jason's.

Aria's family found her and gave her hugs. Mike even looked like he had been crying. Zack asked, "So Jason did you tear up?"

"I almost did, but then I realized my Mom was crying enough for the both of us." He responded lightening the mood.

Ella just wrapped her arms around her daughter and told her how proud she was. The other families had much of the same reactions. Getting all of their stuff together the girls all headed to their homes after an exhausting night.


	5. A week later

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars or these characters. Not written for money, only enjoyment.**

This is not the last chapter but I thought it was needed for the ending. I hope you have enjoyed the story enough to keep reading.

_Please don't be afraid to review. I appreciate them all including criticism. _

* * *

It had been almost a full week since the showcase and random strangers, other students and teachers were all still telling the girls what a good job they did with the finale. They always said thank you and walked away feeling funny. Meeting at Emily's, "Okay I'm getting tired of the nice routine from everyone. Can't they just go back to ignoring us again?" Hanna asked frustrated.

"I know what you mean, but I think it helped Rosewood heal more than we realized." Aria said texting on her phone.

"Oh my goodness if you don't put your phone down or I'll run it over with my car." Spencer said making a grab for Arias phone. "Until we talked about it after the practicing the song for hours we hadn't even considered doing it for Ali, it was meant to be for us." She added succeeding in getting her friends phone only to be disappointed. "Here." She said tossing it to Aria after discovering she had been texting her Mom not Jason.

"I think we should just keep nodding and smiling. Eventually people will move on from what we did." Emily said looking at both Spencer and Aria, "What's with the phone thing?" she asked.

"Oh she thought I was texting Jason, when it was really my Mom." Aria said not looking up from her phone.

"She hasn't let it out her hand since Saturday so give me a break." Spencer said throwing a pillow at her happy friend.

"Hey Em do you think your parents would be cool if we spent the night and did a girls night?" Hanna asked.

"We can't do it here. My Dad is getting ready to go to back to Texas for a few weeks. So him and Mom want the house to themselves." Emily explained.

"We can do it at my house." Aria said putting down her phone, "Zack and my Mom are going out for their anniversary and Mike is staying at a friend's."

"I thought their anniversary was in November when they got married." Hanna said

"That's their actual anniversary. Zack says this one is for the first time he saw my Mom and the first date they had at The Brew." Aria said happily.

"No offense Aria, but your Mom and Zack are disgustingly cute." Hanna said making a kissy face at her friend.

"I know they are. But I love seeing my Mom happy and Mike has even opened up to him. It's like we're a real family." Aria said giving her laughing friend a hug. "So be at my house, say 8 o'clock."

Jason had spent most of the week with his Mom. It was the most time they had ever spent together in his life and it wasn't forced. After the finale of the showcase she had headed back to his house while he waited with Aria. When he had gotten home he found her sitting on the couch crying and looking at family albums he hadn't had the heart to throw out. She had turned and looked at him when he stepped inside and all she could say was how sorry she was and how she had been a horrible mother. That night he had connected with his Mom and he felt amazing about it, they were taking it slow and getting to know each other in their new lights. Jason was learning how to have no hard feelings towards her and his dad for how they had been absent from his life when he had been a teen and needed their help. Jessica DiLaurentis was seeing her oldest child in a new light. He had become a generous young man who cared about people other than himself. She couldn't help but be proud of the work he was doing at the school and how it was making him into a better man. Even with getting to know Jason as adult it did not leave her without regrets, every night that week when she would check on Jason sleeping she would wish she had done it when he was teen. Maybe they could have been closer and not lost so many years. Jason had been telling her that the past was in the past but she felt guilty about missing so much of his life.

Aria was setting up the living room when her phone rang. Happily she answered it when she saw that the screen said Jason, "Hi. How are things with your Mom?" she asked, missing him.

"Things are good. I just dropped her off at the airport. Want to do something tonight?" He asked dying to see his pink haired girl.

"Jason I would love too, but the girls are coming over a for a girls night. Rain check till tomorrow." Aria said sadly, she loved her friends but she wanted some alone time with Jason also.

"Tomorrow sounds great. Have a good time with the girls. Don't tell Hanna anything." Jason told her.

"I make no promises. She can be pretty insistent." Aria said laughing.

"That's true, but I guess she saw the only thing you could really tell her about so there's not much to gossip about." Jason said smirking.

"True. Be careful coming home and I'll see you tomorrow." Aria told him hating to hang up the phone.

The living room was perfectly set up for the girl's night. Aria had repositioned the TV and the couch to make more room plus brought down some stuff for face masks and everything. Arriving all the same time Spencer, Hanna, and Emily came in and settled in. They had movies, trash magazines, and junk food. It didn't take the girls long to settle into their routine of the girls nights they had been having since they were thirteen. Around 10 p.m. Hanna complained of being hungry for real food, so they ordered two pizzas and put on the face masks hoping that they would be off by the time the pizzas arrived.

Jason, Toby and Caleb were all at the pizza shop when the order came in for two pizzas. The guy at the counter had said the address out loud and Jason got an idea. Knowing that the new music shop was still open he headed over there giving Caleb and Toby instructions to get the girls pizzas. Walking over the music store Jason rented a karaoke machine for the night. When he got back to his car Toby and Caleb were waiting, "What is that?" Caleb said pointing to the machine.

"A karaoke machine. We're going to go join the girls at their girl's night." Jason said smirking.

Slapping his friend on the back, "I do love the way you think, Jason." Toby said as they all climbed in his car and headed towards Arias.

Hanna heard the doorbell ring first and jumped up to answer it, "The pizza guy is here." She yelled. "Make that the pizza guys." Grabbing the pizza from Caleb's hand she let the guys in.

"What do you mean guys?" Spencer said coming into the foyer. "Oh guys."

"Okay so Aria and I are hungry too." Emily said joining the small party. "Aria you're going to need to grab three more plates." She called to her friend.

"Why do we need three more…" Aria said coming out of the kitchen and noticing the guys. "Well I'm glad you all just decided to invite yourselves." She said smiling at the boyfriends and heading back to the kitchen.

"Is the party taking place here or can we come into the living room?" Caleb asked.

"Oh, come on in. We're just surprised to see you all here." Spencer said taking the pizza out of Toby's hand.

"It was Jason's idea." Caleb and Toby said in unison and pointing at the third guy who had been quiet.

Jason just smiled and moved past the group to the living room. "What are you carrying" Emily asked following him.

"I rented us a karaoke machine." Jason said setting it down, "I figured since well had such a good time at the showcase that we could do our own little show for each other." He said plugging it in and turning it on.

Aria had finally joined in on the fun and noticed the karaoke machine. "So who wants to go first?" She asked grabbing a piece of pizza.

All of her friends looked at her, "You arrived last, so that means you go first." Toby said laughing.

"Oh thanks guys." She responded with mock desperation.

The night was filled with laughter as the girls sang Spice Girls and the guys sang *NYSNC. None of the girls were mad that the guys had invited themselves, it actually made the night better because the guys let the girls put face masks on them. Soon they were done with the karaoke machine and a movie was put in. The party slowly turned from night to early morning and the friends started drifting off to sleep.

Ella and Zack came home to a drive way that had an extra car in it, they both recognized it as Jason's. Heading inside they found Aria and her friends all asleep in the living room. They both smiled at the sight, Emily had the couch all to herself, Hanna and Caleb were snuggled together under the window, Toby and Spencer were on the other side of the coffee table that was in front of the couch, and Jason and Aria were in front of the fireplace. Looking around they could tell that the group had just had a fun night of being together and that nothing had happened between any of the couples. Zack headed into the kitchen to start making breakfast for the soon to be stirring army while Ella stood for a few more moments and looked at Jason and Aria. She couldn't help but notice how her daughter was curled into Jason's side and how he was almost cradling her. It was the sweetest sight she had seen in a long time.

Soon the smell of coffee and fresh muffins had all of the friends waking up and wondering who was making breakfast. As a group they shuffled into the kitchen, most of them only half awake. Aria was the first one to fully wake up followed by Jason when they saw that it was Ella and Zack. "Mom, Zack, what are you doing home? I thought you were coming home later today. I was going to have the house cleaned up." She started to ramble.

Jason jumped in to the help, "Nothing happened last night. We all can promise that. Toby, Caleb and I were at the pizza place when the girls called in their order so we decided to crash the party. We just didn't intend to stay all night." He rambled as bad as Aria.

Ella just held up her hand to help the two out, "It's okay. We could tell nothing happened when we came in. We also don't mind that you boys stopped by. By the looks of the living room it looks like you all had a good time." She said pouring coffee into mugs and setting them on the table. The tired looking group of friends all breathed a sigh of relief and gathered farther into the kitchen grabbing cups of coffee and muffins and starting to chow down.

After breakfast Ella and Zack were amazed yet again when the group went back to the living room and put it back together without having to be asked. The girls picked up the trash and dishes from the night before while the guys did the heavy lifting of the furniture moving. Soon the living room looked like it always did and the friends all headed towards their homes to get some more sleep and clean up. Walking towards the front window Ella watched Aria and Jason.

Aria walked out with Jason. She couldn't believe he had crashed her girl's night, yet she wasn't upset about it. It had actually made the night better and gave them a chance to reconnect in a crowded environment. Jason leaned against his car after putting the karaoke machine in the passenger seat since Toby and Caleb were going with Hanna and Spencer, looking at Aria he pulled her to him. Once she was in his arms he nuzzled her neck dying to kiss her but not daring to since he could see Ella standing and watching them through the front window.

Tightening his arms, "Hmm I really want to kiss you but…" He said nuzzling Arias neck softly.

"My Mom is watching from the front window isn't she?" Aria asked putting her hand in his hair dying to kiss him.

"Mmm-hmm." Was all Jason could answer with, he was intoxicated by her vanilla smell.

"Well then." Aria said shifting so that Jason had to pull his face away from her neck.

His puppy eyes told her that he hadn't wanted to move but when she stood on her tippy toes and kissed him it didn't take him long to respond.

Ella wasn't surprised when Aria kissed Jason. The two of them loved each other and weren't going to let anything come between them again and Ella had to say she didn't mind her daughter being in love with Rosewood's resident bad boy heart throb.


	6. Life Beginning

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pretty Little Liars or these characters. Not written for money, only enjoyment.**

Here is the final chapter to this story. I hope you have enjoyed it enough to read till this point.

_Don't be afraid to review. I appreciate them all even criticism. _

* * *

The last few weeks of the girl's senior year seem to fly by. They had all gotten their college acceptance letters, Spencer to Yale: early admission, Hanna to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in LA, Emily had decided to stay in Rosewood and go to Hollis, and Aria was off to NYU.

As the weeks had passed the girls felt stronger as a group they were finally in a place where they were all happy. Toby was moving to New Haven with Spencer because he had found a great construction job and the boss didn't care about his past only that he was trying to make up for it. Caleb was going to LA because that is where his real Mom lived but also for Hanna, they would only be an hour or so apart. Since Emily was single she didn't have to worry about a significant other just yet, although she did hope that she found one. Jason and Aria had finally become a couple even though everyone had already considered them one. He was moving to New York to be with Aria.

It had come over the speaker system at the school that Mr. Fitz had taken a job in Pittsburgh and would be leaving Rosewood permanently. Aria was happy for him, it was the chance he had been looking for, a place to start over and be the man he really wanted to be.

Spencer's parents had gotten over the fact that their daughter wouldn't be going to U. Penn like the rest of the family had. In an unusual way they understood her need to be different from Melissa. Finding out Jason was her half-brother had helped her see that being different wasn't a bad thing but something to be celebrated. Her friends had been thrilled when she had showed them the acceptance letter. Toby moving to New Haven was an easy decision when he had looked up jobs and found a company that was looking for an experienced worker. When he called about the job he had been up front about his past but the only thing the boss had asked was if Toby was moving on from it or letting it control his future. Toby's honest answer had gotten him the job.

Hanna's love of fashion had gotten her accepted to FIDM but her insistence that she needed to do it on her own kept her Mom from moving across the nation with her daughter. Wanting to do something on her own was Hanna's final move as a senior in high school. Plus having Caleb only an hour away made her decision that much easier. What she didn't know was that her Mom had told Caleb that he had to keep her updated on their life.

Emily's decision to stay in Rosewood had shocked them all, but when she hurt her shoulder she had lost any chance of swimming again which meant no scholarship. She was excited to be in Rosewood without her friends, she loved them all dearly but she was happy that she could become who she was without living in their shadows.

Aria had been the first to decide where she wanted to go and be accepted to her dream school. She was looking forward to living in a town that could and would swallow Rosewood in one single gulp. Moving away from her Mom, Mike and Zack was the only thing she was truly worried about. When her Dad had run off after the divorce and married the TA he had cheated with it had broken her family and by going away she felt as if she was doing the same thing. Her Mom and Mike both assured her that she was doing the right thing and that she needed the time away to become her own person. When Aria had showed her acceptance letter to Jason he had been thrilled for her. At that time they weren't truly a couple, but they were close.

* * *

Graduation day brought many tears and memories up for the girls. They couldn't believe they had made it. Three years of A torturing them and a year of ups and downs due to emotions and they were done with high school. Walking to the cemetery the girls were going to say their final good byes to Allison. She had been the one person to bring them all together and she deserved a proper goodbye from her best friends.

Sitting down, "Allison you have no idea how badly we wish you were here with us right now. These past four years have been killer without you." Spencer spoke to the headstone.

"Ali you may have been the biggest bitch I know but you helped me see who I could be. I'll never forget that." Hanna said wiping away a tear.

"You were my first girl kiss and crush. I wish we had had more time but we didn't." Emily said with a sad smile on her face.

"Well Ali I have been hearing you yell at me for months now and yes Jason and I official. So you can just bite me when I see you again. I miss you more than you know but I also know that you will always be watching us." Aria finally spoke wiping away her tears.

"You and Jason are official?" Hanna asked tackling her friend. "When did this happen?"

"We made it official two weeks ago." Aria said hugging her friend.

"Why haven't you told us?" Emily asked.

"We wanted to keep it quiet for us for a while. I was going to tell you guys yesterday but I figured it could wait till I told Ali." Aria answered.

The girls all hugged, linked arms and walked away. They knew they weren't really leaving Ali in Rosewood, but they were leaving all of the bad memories at her grave and moving forward with their lives.

The summer passed in a flash, Hanna and Caleb had moved to LA at the end of July. The hole the two left was filled with many girl's nights that involved skype and gossip about how things were going in both Rosewood and LA. Toby and Spencer left the second week of August so they could both get settled in their new home. Emily and Aria were soon the only liars left in Rosewood and they spent all the time they could together.

As the end of August rolled around Emily had to say goodbye to her last best friend to leave town. "You are going to do great in New York. Just promise me that if you get into any trouble you'll let me know" Emily said hugging her friend by her car.

"I promise Em. You have to promise me that if you find a girlfriend you'll call me first." Aria said squeezing her friend tight.

"I promise."

The girls stood in their hug for several minutes. Neither of them were ready for the next phase in their lives.

"Aria." Ella spoke hating that she broke apart the two crying friends. "You really need to get on the road."

"You're right Mom." Aria said as she walked back to her house to hug her family. "I'll call you when I get there." She said as she climbed into her new car.

Ella, Mike and Zack all stood on the front porch and waved as Aria headed out. Ella couldn't hold back her tears, Mike was trying as hard he could but when Aria's tail lights disappeared he broke down it Zack's arms, Zack was the only one to humbly keep it together but when Mike broke down he did also.

Jason was the last one of the group to leave Rosewood. He had told Aria he would be a couple hours behind her because he had to do something before he could leave town. Already having a family in line to rent his house Aria wondered but didn't ask. Putting his last box in the back of his Tahoe, Jason headed to the cemetery. He hadn't been there to see Allison's grave. Pulling up he put his SUV in park and headed towards his sister's grave. Sitting down on the grass Jason could almost swear he felt Allison's presence.

"I'm sorry this is the first time I've been by here. I just didn't know how to come. We had a horrible relationship Ali. I wish I had been a better big brother. Maybe you would have been able to walk in the fashion show, sing in the showcase, walk at graduation and be going off to college if I had been. I know Aria told you that we're together and I know that you would be pissed if you were alive but I do love her she actually means the world to me. I wish things had been different between us, I wish we had trusted each other but I can't live in the past anymore. I need to look forward to what I have." Standing up, "I miss you every day Ali, you may have been the biggest bitch I knew but you were my little sister." Jason finished, walking back to his SUV, starting it up and headed towards New York and Aria.


End file.
